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BUSINESS    ENGLISH 


A  PRACTICE  BOOK 


BY 

ROSE   BUHLIG 

LAKE    HIGH    SCHOOL,    CHICAGO 


D.   C.  HEATH   &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


Copyright,  1914, 
By  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

IG4 


PREFACE 

The  author  of  this  book  and  the  writer  of  this  preface  have 
never  met.  Their  respective  fields  of  labor  are  a  thousand  miles 
apart.  Yet  such  is  the  force  of  ideas  that  many  of  their  thoughts 
and  sympathies  are  common. 

Business  English!  The  very  name  is  an  anomaly.  From  a 
literary  point  of  view  there  is  no  such  thing.  English  is  Eng- 
lish whether  it  be  used  to  express  the  creations  of  our  imagina- 
tion, our  aesthetic  appreciations,  or  our  daily  wants.  There  is 
no  magical  combination  of  words,  phrases,  and  sentences  that  is 
peculiar  and  distinctive  to  business  transactions.  Business  Eng- 
lish as  used  in  these  pages  means  effective  communication,  both 
oral  and  written.  The  author's  aim  throughout  has  been  to 
teach  the  art  of  using  words  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  people 
think  and  act.  To  do  this  she  has  applied  the  principles  of  lit- 
erary composition  to  the  highly  complex  and  ever  increasing 
problems  of  our  business  life.  She  realizes  that  business  is  vital, 
and  that  the  problems  of  commerce  are  not  to  be  met  and 
handled  with  dead  forms  and  stereotyped  expressions  of  legal 
blanks. 

To  use  our  language  effectively  it  is  necessary  to  have  an 
understanding  of  its  elements.  Thus  the  author  has  very  wisely 
devoted  much  space  to  word-study  and  English  grammar.  This 
is  a  field  commonly  neglected  in  books  on  the  subject.  The 
people  engaged  in  business  are,  on  the  whole,  woefully  weak  in 
the  grammar  of  our  language.  It  is  believed  that  the  treatment 
herein  will  be  a  great  aid  in  correcting  this  deficiency.  If  we 
have  ideas,  we  must  express  them  in  words,  and  our  words 
should  be  so  chosen  and  arranged  as  not  to  offend,  but  to  please 
and  interest.  This  result  can  be  secured  by  a  systematic  study 
of  Part  I. 

292222 


iv  PREFACE 

Part  II  deals  with  oral  and  written  composition.  Here  the 
author  has  arranged  her  subjects  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  the 
whole  a  cumulative  effect.  The  method  throughout  is  induc- 
tive, and  sufficient  examples  are  always  given  to  warrant  the 
conclusions  drawn.  Most  textbooks  on  Business  Enghsh  neglect 
the  subject  of  oral  English.  This  book  regards  the  spoken  word 
as  important  as  the  written  word. 

If  there  be  any  one  feature  in  this  textbook  more  to  be  com- 
mended than  another,  it  is  the  exposition  in  Part  III.  The 
situations  arising  in  many  different  kinds  of  business  are  here 
analyzed.  The  author  beUeves  that  the  way  to  become  a  good 
business  correspondent  is,  first,  to  learn  what  the  situation 
demands  and,  second,  to  practice  meeting  the  demands.  We 
must  know  before  we  write.  Given  a  knowledge  of  the  subject, 
we  must  have  much  practice  in  expressing  ourselves  in  such  a 
way  as  to  make  our  composition  effective.  The  author  meets 
this  need  by  supplying  many  and  varied  exercises  for  practice. 
These  exercises  are  live,  practical,  and  up-to-date.  The  prob- 
lems to  be  solved  are  real,  not  imaginary.  Thus  the  power  to 
be  gained  in  meeting  these  situations  and  solving  these  problems 
will  prove  a  real  asset  to  those  who  contemplate  a  business 
career.  It  is  confidently  hoped  that  both  teachers  and  pupils 
will  find  in  this  work  material  which  will  help  them  to  prepare 
themselves  to  meet  the  many  problems  and  demands  of  our 
growing  commercial  needs. 

Daniel  B.  Duncan 

Columbia  University 
January^  I9i4« 


CONTENTS 

Part  I— Word  Study  and  Grammar 

Chapter  "  Page 

I    Interesting  Words i 

H    Pronunciation 7 

III  Spelling  Rules 18 

IV  Word  Analysis 29 

V    The  Sentence  and  its  Elements 41 

VI    The  Noun  and  the  Pronoun 57 

VII    The  Adjective  and  the  Adverb 75 

VIII    The  Verb 83 

IX  The  Preposition  and  the  Conjunction  .    .    .    .116 

Part  II— Composition:  Oral  and  Written 

X  Oral  English 127 

XI  Choosing  Subjects  . 146 

XII  Punctuation 158 

XIII  The  Clear  Sentence 199 

XIV  The  Paragraph 215 

XV  Business  Letters 229 

Part  III  —  Composition:  Business  Practice 

XVI    Manufacture 270 

XVII    Distribution 282 

XVIII    Advertising 308 

XIX    Real  Estate  and  Insurance     . 321 

XX    Banking 33^ 

XXI    The  Corporation 353 

Index 369 


BUSINESS    ENGLISH 

PART  I  — WORD  STUDY  AND   GRAMMAR 

CHAPTER  I 
INTERESTING  WORDS 

Business  English  is  the  expression  of  our  commercial  life 
in  English.  It  is  not  synonymous  with  letter  writing.  To 
be  sure,  business  letters  are  important,  but  they  form  only  a 
part  of  one  of  the  two  large  divisions  into  which  the  subject 
naturally  falls. 

First,  there  is  oral  expression,  important  because  so  many 
of  our  business  transactions  are  conducted  personally. 
Thousands  of  salesmen  daily  move  from  place  to  place  over 
the  entire  country,  earning  their  salaries  by  talking  con- 
vincingly of  the  goods  that  they  have  to  sell.  A  still  greater 
number  of  clerks,  salesmen,  managers,  and  officials  orally 
transact  business  in  our  shops,  stores,  offices,  and  banks. 
Complaints  are  adjusted;  difficulties  are  disentangled;  and 
affairs  of  magnitude  are  consimimated  in  personal  inter- 
views, the  matter  under  discussion  often  being  thought  too 
important  to  be  entrusted  to  correspondence.  In  every 
business  oral  English  is  essential. 

Second,  there  is  written  expression.  This  takes  account  of 
the  writing  of  advertisements,  circulars,  booklets,  and  pros- 
pectuses, as  well  as  of  letters.  And  in  the  preparation  of 
these  oral  English  is  fundamental.  It  precedes  and  prac- 
tically includes  the  written  expression.  For  example,  we 
say  colloquially  that  a  good  advertisement  "talks."  We 
mean  that  the  writer  has  so  fully  realized  the  buyer's  point 
of  view  that  the  words  of  the  advertisement  seem  to  speak 
directly  to  the  reader,  arousing  his  interest  or  perhaps  answer- 


2  '  '  -{)  <\\    ,W9REf  STUDY 

ing  his  objection.  Oral  English  is  fundamental,  too,  in  the 
writing  of  letters,  for  most  letters  are  dictated  and  not  writ- 
ten. The  correspondent  talks  them  to  his  stenographer  or 
to  a  recording  machine  in  the  same  tone,  probably,  that  he 
would  use  if  the  customer  were  sitting  before  him. 

But  in  taking  this  point  of  view,  we  should  not  minimize 
the  importance  of  written  business  English.  In  a  way,  it  is 
more  difficult  to  write  well  than  it  is  to  talk  well.  In  talking 
we  are  not  troubled  with  the  problems  of  correct  spelling, 
proper  punctuation,  and  good  paragraphing.  We  may  even 
repeat  somewhat,  if  only  we  are  persuasive.  But  in  writing 
we  are  confronted  with  the  necessity  of  putting  the  best 
thoughts  into  the  clearest,  most  concise  language,  at  the 
same  time  obeying  all  the  rules  of  spelling,  punctuation,  and 
grammar.  The  business  man  must  be  sure  of  these  details 
in  order  to  know  that  his  letters  and  advertising  matter  are 
correct.  The  stenographer,  especially,  must  be  thoroughly 
familiar  with  them,  so  that  she  may  correctly  transcribe 
what  has  been  dictated. 

Business  English  is  much  the  same  as  any  other  English. 
It  consists  in  expression  by  means  of  words,  sentences,  and 
paragraphs.  Moreover,  they  are  much  the  same  kind  of 
words,  sentences,  and  paragraphs  that  appear  in  any  book 
that  is  written  in  what  is  commonly  called  the  literary  style. 
In  a  business  letter  the  words  are  largely  those  of  every  day 
use,  and  but  few  are  technical.  It  is  the  manner  in  which 
the  words  are  put  together,  the  idea  back  of  the  sentence, 
that  makes  the  difference.  Business  English  calls  for  busi- 
ness thinking,  the  development  of  which  is  of  the  utmost 
importance. 

We  must  know  our  tools  before  we  can  use  them,  and  in 
business  English  the  tools  are  right  words  and  sound  ideas. 
We  must  search  for  the  one  and  develop  the  other.  Both 
tasks  will  be  interesting.  There  is  an  exhilaration  in  the 
choice  of  an  expressive  word  and  a  satisfaction  in  the  work- 


INTERESTING  WORDS  3 

ing  out  of  an  effective  idea,  but  the  idea  is  useless  without 
the  word  to  tell  it.  There  is  a  power  in  words,  but  the  power 
comes  only  through  study.  "A  word  is  short  and  quick,  but 
works  a  long  result;  therefore  look  well  to  words.'* 

The  study  of  words  is  interesting  because  words  themselves 
are  interesting.  Sometimes  the  interest  consists  in  the 
story  of  the  derivation.  As  an  example,  consider  the  word 
italic.  Many  words  in  this  book  are  written  in  italic  to  draw 
attention  to  them.  Literally  the  word  means  "relating  to 
Italy  or  its  people."  It  is  now  applied  to  a  kind  of  type  in 
which  the  letters  slope  toward  the  right.  The  type  was 
called  italic  because  it  was  dedicated  to  the  states  of  Italy 
by  the  inventor,  Manutius,  about  the  year  1500.  An  una- 
bridged dictionary  will  tell  all  about  the  word. 

The  word  salary  tells  a  curious  story.  It  is  derived  from 
a  Latin  word,  salarium,  meaning  "salt  money.'*  It  was  the 
name  of  the  money  that  was  given  to  the  Roman  soldiers 
for  salt,  which  was  a  part  of  their  pay.  Finally,  instead  of 
signifying  only  the  salt  money,  it  came  to  mean  the  total 
pay. 

Practically  all  of  this  information  a  good  dictionary 
gives.  In  other  words,  a  dictionary  is  a  story  book  con- 
taining not  one,  but  hundreds  of  thousands  of  stories. 
Whenever  possible  it  tells  what  language  a  word  cp,me  from, 
how  it  got  its  different  meanings,  and  how  those  meanings 
have  changed  in  the  course  of  time.  For  it  is  natural  that 
words  should  change  just  as  styles  change,  names  of 
ancient  things  being  lost  and  names  for  new  things  being 
made.  As  the  objects  themselves  have  gone  out  of  use, 
their  names  have  also  gone.  When  a  word  has  gone  en- 
tirely out  of  use,  it  is  marked  obsolete  in  the  dictionary. 
On  the  other  hand,  new  inventions  must  be  named.  Thus 
new  words  are  constantly  being  added  to  the  language 
because  they  are  needed. 

There  is  a  large  class  of  words  that  we  shall  not  have 


4  WORD   STUDY 

time  to  consider.  They  are  called  technical.  Every  pro- 
fession, business,  or  trade  has  its  distinctive  words.  The 
technical  words  that  a  printer  would  use  are  entirely  differ- 
ent from  those  which  a  dentist,  a  bookkeeper,  or  a  lawyer 
would  use.  You  will  learn  the  technical  terms  of  your 
business  most  thoroughly  after  you  enter  it  and  see  the  use 
for  such  terms. 

If  a  dictionary  will  give  us  all  of  this  information,  it  is 
evident  that  it  is  a  book  to  be  respected  and  studied,  for 
it  is  by  no  means  ^'dry."  Of  course  it  will  do  no  good 
to  read  it  unless  the  words  are  learned;  unless  they  are 
spoken  and  written.  There  is  pleasure  in  thus  employing 
new  material,  as  everybody  knows.  Use  your  eyes  and 
ears.  When  you  hear  a  new  word,  or  read  one,  focus  the 
mind  upon  it  for  a  moment  until  you  can  retain  a  mental 
picture  of  its  spelling  and  of  its  pronunciation.  Then  as 
soon  as  possible  look  it  up  in  the  dictionary  to  fix  its  spell- 
ing, pronunciation,  and  definition.  Do  this  regularly,  and 
you  will  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  your  vocabulary. 

An  excellent  way  to  increase  the  number  of  words  that 
you  know  is  to  read  the  right  kind  of  books.  The  careful 
study  of  the  words  used  in  the  speeches  and  addresses  of 
noted  men  is  good  practice.  The  conditions  that  called 
forth  the  speech  were  probably  important,  and  the  speech 
itself  interesting,  or  it  would  not  be  preserved.  When 
a  man  has  an  interesting  or  important  message  to  give,  he 
usually  gives  it  in  clear,  exact,  simple  language.  There- 
fore the  vocabulary  that  he  uses  is  worth  copying.  As 
for  stories,  there  is  a  kind  that  furnishes  a  wealth  of  ma- 
terial that  modern  authors  are  constantly  using  or  referring 
to,  and  this  is  found  in  stories  of  the  Bible,  stories  of  Greek 
and  Northern  gods  and  goddesses,  stories  of  the  Iliad,  the 
Odyssey,  the  jEneid,  stories  of  chivalry  —  all  old  stories. 
Every  one  should  know  them  well,  because  they  are  the 
basis  of  many  allusions  in  which  a  single  word  oftentimes 


INTERESTING  WORDS 


suggests  a  whole  story.  The  meaning  of  the  word  her- 
culean, for  instance,  is  missed  if  you  do  not  know  the 
story   of    Hercules    and   know    that   he   was    famous    for 

his  strength. 

Exercise  i 

Atlas  is  an  interesting  word.  Originally  it  was  the  name  of 
a  Greek  god,  who  carried  the  world  on  his  shoulders.  Then 
it  is  supposed  that  in  the  sixteenth  century  the  famous 
geographer  Mercator  prefixed  his  collection  of  maps  with 
the  picture  of  Atlas  supporting  the  world.  Thus  a  collec- 
tion of  maps  in  a  volume  came  to  be  called  an  atlas.  Con- 
sult an  unabridged  dictionary  for  the  origin  of  each  of  the 
following: 


rival 

fortune 

cereal 

boycott 

dollar 

finance 

china 

derrick 

bankrupt 

milliner 

Java 

mercury 

cash 

pullman 

cashmere 

colossal 

mint 

grocer 

macadam 

turbine 

Exercise  2 
The  days  of  the  week  and  the  months  of  the  year  are 
interesting    in    their    derivation.     Monday,    for    example, 
represents  the  day  sacred  to  the  Moon  as  a  deity.     Explain 
the  origin  of  each  of  the  following: 

Sunday  Saturday  May  October 

Tuesday  January  June  November 

Wednesday  February  July  December 

Thursday  March  August 

Friday  April  September 

Exercise  3 

Look  up  the  derivation  of  the  following: 

cancel  bead  ambition  hospital 

pecuniary  paper  influence  pavilion 

cheat  book  virtue  mackintosh 

speculation  bayonet  peevish  chapel 

phaeton  tawdry  disaster  omnibus 


WORD   STUDY 


Exercise  4 

Explain  the  origin  of  each  of  the  following: 


curfew 

tulip 

turquoise 

good-bye 

pompadour 

aster 

amethyst 

dismal 

hyacinth 

dunce 

tantalize 

titanic 

dandelion 

humor 

umbrella 

volcano 

dahlia 

villain 

sandwich 

tangle 

begonia 

echo 

lunatic 

babble 

Exercise  5 

Tell  the  image  that  each  of  the  following  suggests  to 
you: 

howl  sputter  rasping  munch 

skim  prance  clatter  trickle 

squeal  dick  wheeze  shuffle 

moan  thud  trudge  bulge 

squeak  patter  chuckle  gobble 

squawk  spatter  toddling  swish 

Exercise  6 
Bring  to  class  a  list  of  words  which,  because  they  are  the 
names  of  modern  inventions,  have  come  into  the  language 
in  modern  time. 

Exercise  7 

How  many  words  can  you  name  which  might  be  called  the 
technical  terms  of  school  life,  words  which  always  carry  with 
them  a  suggestion  of  the  school  room?  Bring  in  a  list  of 
twenty  such  words. 

Exercise  8 

How  many  words  can  you  name  which  are  used  only  in 
the  business  world?    Bring  in  a  list  of  twenty  such  words. 

Exercise  9 

How  many  words  can  you  name  which  apply  particu- 
larly to  money  and  the  payment  or  non-payment  of 
money?    Bring  in  a  list  of  twenty  or  more  such  words. 


I 


CHAPTER  II 
PRONUNCIATION 

We  are  judged  by  our  speech.  If  we  clip  syllables,  run 
words  together,  or  pronounce  them  incorrectly,  we  shall 
merit  the  criticism  of  being  careless  or  even  ignorant.  Yet 
clear  enunciation  and  correct  pronunciation  are  sometimes 
difficult.  We  learn  most  words  by  hearing  others  say  them, 
and,  if  we  do  not  hear  the  true  values  given  to  the  different 
syllables,  we  shall  find  it  hard  to  distinguish  the  correct 
from  the  incorrect  forms.  Children  whose  parents  speak  a 
foreign  language  usually  have  to  watch  their  speech  with 
especial  care;  Germans,  for  example,  find  difficulty  in  saying 
th  and  Irish  people  in  saying  oi  as  in  oil.  The  exercises  in 
this  chapter  are  given  for  the  purpose  of  correcting  such 
habits.  The  words  in  the  exercises  should  be  pronounced 
repeatedly,  until  the  correct  forms  are  instinctive. 

Train  the  ear  to  hear  the  difference  between  sounds,  as 
in  just  and  in  jest.  Don't  slide  over  the  final  consonant  in 
such  words  as  going  and  reading.  Watch  words  containing 
wh.  The  dictionary  tells  us  that  where  was  originally  written 
hwar,  the  h  coming  before  the  w;  and  we  still  pronounce  it 
so,  although  we  write  the  w  before  the  h.  The  word  whether 
is  of  the  same  kind.  The  dictionary  tells  us  that  it  was  first 
spelled  hweder.  Such  words  should  be  carefully  noted  and 
their  pronunciation  practiced. 

Then  there  is  the  habit  of  slurring  syllables.  We  may 
understand  what  is  meant  by  the  expression  "Cm*  on"  or 
"Waja  say?'',  but  most  of  us  would  prefer  not  to  be  in- 
cluded in  the  class  of  people  who  use  either.  Correct  speech 
cannot  be  mastered  without  an  effort. 


8  WORD  STUDY 

In  the  following  exercises  watch  every  vowel  and  every 
consonant  so  that  you  may  give  each  one  its  full  value. 

Exercise  lo  —  Diacritical  Marks 

Although  an  a  is  always  written  a,  it  is  not  always  given 
the  same  quality  or  length  of  sound.  When  we  discover  a 
new  word,  it  is  important  that  we  know  exactly  the  quality 
to  give  each  of  the  vowels  in  it.  For  this  purpose  diacriti- 
cal marks  have  been  invented.  They  are  illustrated  in  the 
following  list  from  Webster's  International  Dictionary. 
a  as  in  ate,  fate,  lab'or 


a 

ii 

ii 

sen'ate,  dericate,  ae'rial 

a 

11 

ii 

care,  share,  par'ent 

a 

(C 

a 

am,  add,  ran'dom 

a 

a 

ii 

arm,  far,  fa'ther 

a 

(( 

ii 

ask,  grass,  pass,  dance 

a 

it 

ii 

fi'nal,  in'fant,  guid'ance 

^ 

iC 

a 

all,  awe,  swarm,  talk 

e 

(C 

a 

eve,  mete,  serene' 

e 

ii 

a 

event',  depend',  soci'ety 

e 

(( 

ii 

end,  met,  excuse',  efface' 

e 

iC 

ii 

fern,  her,  er'mine,  ev'er 

e 

a 

ii 

re'cent,  de'cency,  pru'dence 

i 

(( 

a 

ice,  time,  sight,  inspire' 

i 

u 

a 

idea',  tribu'nal,  biorogy 

i 

n 

ii 

m,  pin,  pit'y,  admit' 

o 

ic 

ii 

old,  note,  o'ver,  propose' 

6 

11 

ii 

obey',  tobac'co,  sor'row 

6 

{( 

a 

orb,  lord,  or'der,  abhor' 

6 

ii 

a 

odd,  not,  tor'rid,  occur' 

u 

it 

a 

use,  pure,  du'ty,  assume' 

u 

ii 

ii 

unite',  ac'tuate,  educa'tion 

U 

a 

a 

rude,  ru'mor,  intrude' 

u 

a 

ii 

full,  put,  fulfiU' 

ii 

a 

a 

up,  tub,  stud'y 

ti 

a 

ii 

urn,  fur,  concur' 

f 

a 

ii 

pit'y,  in'jury,  divin'itj^ 

66 

ii 

ii 

fool,  food,  moon 

do 

ii 

a 

fd6t,  wool,  book 

ou  "  "  out,  thou,  devour' 
oi    "  "  oil,  noi'sy,  avoid' 


PRONUNCIATION  9 

a  is  called  long  a,  and  is  marked  with  the  macron 

a  is  called  short  a,  and  is  marked  with  the  breve 

a  is  called  caret  a,  and  is  marked  with  the  caret 

a  is  called  Italian  a,  and  is  marked  with  the  diaeresis 

a  is  called  short  Italian  a,  and  is  marked  with  the  dot 

e  is  called  tilde  e,  and  is  marked  with  the  tilde  or  wave 

Exercise  11  —  Vowels 

Of  the  twenty-six  letters  in  the  alphabet,  how  many  are 
vowels?    Name  them.    What  are  the  other  letters  called? 

Compare  the  a  in  hat  and  the  a  in  hate.  Which  has 
more  nearly  the  sound  of  a  in  the  alphabet?  This  is 
called  the  natural  or  long  sound  of  the  vowel.  The  other 
is  called  the  short  sound. 

Drop  the  e  from  hate.      Explain  the  result. 

Name  other  monosyllables  ending  in  e  and  containing  the 
long  a  sound. 

Explain  the  difference  in  pronunciation  between  PetCj 
pet,  ripe,  rip,  hope,  hop,  cube,  cub. 

Find  other  monosyllables  ending  in  e  and  containing  a 
long  vowel  that  becomes  short  if  the  e  is  dropped. 

Monosyllables  ending  in  silent  e  usually  contain  a  long 
vowel  sound,  which  becomes  short  when  the  final  e  is 
dropped. 

Exercise  12 

Pronounce  carefully  the  following  words  containing  the 
short  Italian  a: 


advance 

class 

lance 

plaster 

advantage 

contrast 

last 

pastor 

after 

enchant 

mask 

prance 

basket 

France 

master 

rafter 

branch 

glance 

mastiff 

shaft 

brass 

glass 

pass 

surpass 

chaff 

grass 

past 

task 

Exercise  13 

Pronounce  the  following  carefully,  noting  each  a  that  is 
marked: 


lO 


WORD   STUDY 


half 

idea 

calm 

audacious 

path 

can't 

apricot 

aghast 

ask 

catch 

madr2,s 

Mgebra 

father 

vacation 

agile 

forbade 

dance 

extra 

cast 

trance 

lass 

casket 

grant 

aviation 

Exercise  14 

Pronounce  the  vowel  0  in  the  following  very  carefully. 
Don't  give  the  sound  feller  or  fella  when  you  mean  fellow. 


fellow 

swallow 

theory 

borrow 

potato 

follow 

position 

heroism 

window 

original 

factory 

donkey 

pillow 

evaporate 

ivory 

memory 

chocolate 

mosquito 

Hcorice 

oriental 

Exercise  15 

The  vowel  u  needs  particular  attention.  When  it  is  long, 
it  is  sounded  naturally,  as  it  is  in  the  alphabet.  Do  not 
say  redooce  for  reduce. 


reduce 

picture 

educate 

figure 

produce 

stupid 

judicial 

duty 

conducive 

student 

calculate 

accumulate 

endure 

genuine 

curiosity 

Tuesday 

duration 

induce 

regular 

particular 

singular 

avenue 

tune 

institute 

nutriment 

constitution 

culinary 

January- 

revenue 

introduce 

opportunity 

manufacture 

Exercise  16 

Using  diacritical  marks  indicate  the  value  of  the  vowels 
in  the  following.  Try  marking  them  without  first  consult- 
ing a  dictionary.  After  you  have  marked  them,  compare 
your  markings  with  those  used  in  a  dictionary. 

pupil  different  diacritical  gigantic 

alphabet  several  radiating  gymnasium 

natural  letter  Wyoming  system 

result  eraser  typical  merchant 


PRONUNCIATION 


II 


Exercise  17 

Pronounce  carefully,  noting  that  in  each  word  at  least 
one  consonant  is  silent,  and  sometimes  a  vowel  as  well. 
Draw  an  oblique  line  through  the  silent  letter  or  letters  in 
each. 


through 

chasten 

sword 

island 

although 

often 

fasten 

daughter 

wrong 

soften 

calf 

might 

yacht 

subtle 

hasten 

bouquet 

gnaw 

almond 

naughty 

honest 

psalm 

gHsten 

thumb 

palm 

whistle 

salve 

should 

knack 

salmon 

chestnut 

knowledge 

castle 

answer 

folks 

listen 

thigh 

knot 

right 

debt 

honor 

Exercise  18 

Pronounce  the  following,  paying  particular  attention  to 
the  vowels.  Distinguish  between  the  meanings  of  the  words 
in  each  group.    - 


accept 
except 

bile 
boil 

least 
lest 

prevision 
provision 

affect 
effect 

carol 
coral 

eleven 
leaven 

poor 
pure 

addition 
edition 

descent 
dissent 

neither 
nether 

radish 
reddish 

assay 
essay 

emerge 
immerge 

pasture 
pastor 

sentry 
century 

baron 
barren 

Francis 
Frances 

pillar 
pillow 

sit 
set 

been 
bean 

jest 
just 
gist 

point 
pint 

wrench 
rinse 

12 


WORD  STUDY 


Exercise  19 
Enunciate  the  consonant  sounds  carefully  in  the  follow- 
ing.    Distinguish  between  the  meanings  of  the  words  in  each 
group. 


acts 
ax 

close 
clothes 

treaties 
treatise 

rows 
rouse 

advice 
advise 

crossed 
across 

princes 
princess 

rues 
ruse 

alms 
elms 

formerly 
formally 

prince 
prints 

either 
ether 

bodice 
bodies 

grays 
grace 

price 
prize 

running 
ruin 

cease 
seize 

lose 
loose 

recent 
resent 

walking 
walk  in 

chance 
chants 

plaintive 
plaintiff 

sects 
sex 

weather 
whether 

does 
dose 
doze 

pair 
payer 

news 
noose 

worst 
worsted  (yarn) 

Exercise  20 

Pronounce  the  following,  making  sure  that  each  syllable  is 
correct.    Guard  against  slurring  the  words  in  the  last  column. 


been 

such 

barrel 

Did  you? 

gone 

put 

faucet 

Don't  you? 

to 

with 

suburb 

Go  on. 

for 

tiny 

hearth 

Our  education 

aunt 

and 

nothing 

You  are 

far 

poem 

office 

You're  not 

our 

catch 

peril 

We're  coming 

kept 

toward 

forbade 

They're  coming 

says 

donkey 

spirit 

What  did  you  say? 

rid 

again 

semi 

Where  are  you  going? 

since 

against 

scared 

Where  have  you  been? 

sleek 

honest 

saucy 

I  want  to  go. 

creek 

savage 

turnip 

I'm  going  to  go. 

where 

swept 

roof 

To-morrow  morning 

boil 

velvet 

proof 

Next  month 

hoist 

direct 

hydrant 

Last  Saturday 

F 


PRONUNCIATION 


13 


Exercise  21 

Enunciate 

carefully: 

salary 

gentleman 

supple 

gymnasium 

because 

library 

subtle 

perspiration 

ideal 

wrestle 

italic 

clapboards 

suite 

vessel 

insect 

cupboard 

thirty 

friendship 

orchid 

archangel 

tomato 

judgment 

hovel 

candelabra 

grimy 

cowardice 

several 

extraordinary 

patron 

miserable 

pumpkin 

civilization 

omelet 

guarantee 

accurate 

horseshoe 

hundred 

gelatine 

guardian 

laboratory 

coupon 

glycerine 

delinquent 

tenacious 

awkward 

parafiine 

secretary 

measure 

hurrah 

portrait 

audacious 

February 

pigeon 

mercantile 

conquer 

cellar 

history 

juvenile 

conquest 

perfect 

diamond 

thousand 

congress 

grandmother 

asylum 

overalls     < 

licorice 

generally 

Exercise  22 

Be  especially  careful  of  the  sounds  th  and  wh.  Add  no 
syllable  to  a  word  and  omit  none.  Consult  a  dictionary 
for  any  word  below  about  which  you  are  not  certain: 


when 

length 

diphthong 

generally 

where 

strength 

diphtheria 

forget 

while 

height 

anesthetic 

recognize 

wharf 

width 

betrothal 

hungry 

which 

depth 

theory 

geography 

wheel 

there 

theme 

instead 

wheeze 

them 

arithmetic 

isolated 

why 

eleventh 

bathe 

writing 

whiff 

twelfth 

lathe 

kettle 

whence 

thought 

believe 

language 

whet 

throat 

bronchitis 

leisure 

what 

wreaths 

government 

volume 

whale 

paths 

courteous 

column 

wheat 

months 

different 

always 

wheedle 

mouths 

engine 

once 

whelp 

myths 

English 

twice 

14 


WORD   STUDY 


whimper 

breadths 

surprise 

arctic 

whip 

moths 

deaf 

Italian 

whit 

bath 

children 

picture 

whither 

earth 

cruel 

often 

Exercise  23  —  Homonjons 

A  homonym  is  a  word  having  the  same  sound  as  another 
but  differing  from  it  in  meaning.  Use  each  of  the  following 
in  a  sentence  to  show  its  meaning. 

aloud  ^     draft  fowl  principal 

allowed  draught  foul  principle 


ascent 
assent 

faint 
feint 

gate 
gait 

peal 
peel 

aught 
ought 

canvas 
canvass 

great 
grate 

quire 
choir 

bad 
bade 

cereal 
serial 

hew 
hue 

seen 
scene 

bale 
bail 

cession 
session 

kernel 
colonel 

soul 
sole 

berry- 
bury 

cite 
site 

leased 
least 

strait 
straight 

boy 
buoy 

coarse 
course 

lesser 
lessor 

stair 
stare 

by 
buy 

compliment 
complement 

mite 
might 

sweet 
suite 

council 
counsel 

feign 
fain 

miner 
minor 

there 
their 

current 
currant 

flour 
flower 

need 
knead 

wood 
would 

Exercise  24 

Do  the  same  with  the  following: 

aisle  clause  kill 

isle  claws  kiln 


sail 
sale 


PRONUNCIATION 


IS 


awl 
all 

climb 
clime 

key 
quay 

ring 
wring 

base 
bass 

draught 
draft 

lie 
lye 

serge 
surge 

blew 
blue 

dew 
due 

medal 
'  meddle 

sole 
soul 

bough 
bow 

done 
dun 

peer 
pier 

shone 
shown 

bread 
bred 

dual 
duel 

pore 
pour 

steel 
steal 

bear 
bare 

flue 
flew 

profit 
prophet 

stationary 
stationery 

bridal 
bridle 

freeze 
frieze 

quarts 
quartz 

wade 
weighed 

capital 
capitol 

guilt 
gilt 

rest 
wrest 

wave 
waive 

ceiling 
sealing 

heard 
herd 

root 
route 

wrap 
rap 

Exercise  25- 

-  Syllabication 

What  is  a  syllable? 

Choose  a  word  and  notice  that  every  vowel  sound  in  it 
makes  a  syllable.  Therefore,  you  never  have  two  vowels 
in  one  syllable  unless  the  two  are  pronounced  as  one  sound. 

In  pronouncing  notice  carefully  to  which  syllable  a  con- 
sonant belongs;   as  in  dif-fer-enty  beau-H-fyy  daisy. 

Divide  the  following  words  into  syllables.  If  you  cannot 
decide  with  which  syllable  a  consonant  belongs,  consult  a 
dictionary. 

paper  grocer  rotate  mystery 

tomato  erect  repeat  regular 

vinegar  polish  general  arithmetic 

If  a  syllable,  especially  an  accented  syllable,  ends  in  a 
vowel,  what  is  usually  the  length  of  the  vowel? 


i6 


WORD   STUDY 


If  the  syllable  ends  in  a  consonant,  what  is  usually  the 
length  of  the  vowel  of  the  syllable? 

When  a  consonant  is  doubled,  the  division  is  usually  made 
between  the  two  letters;  as, 

blot-ter  skip-ping  remit-tance 

neces-sary  throt-tle  span-ning 

As  a  rule,  a  prefix  constitutes  one  syllable;  as, 
pro-long        pre-fer         con-stant        de-fect  ad-mit 

re-ceive         se-lect         dis-trust         e-merge        im-merse 

As  a  rule,  a  suffix  constitutes  one  syllable;  as, 

labor-er  soft-ly  beauti-fy  selec-tion 

mole-cule  revolution-ist  percent-age  fanat-ic 

When  two  or  more  letters  together  give  one  sound,  they 
must  not  be  divided;  as, 

math-ematics        ex-change  paragraph-ing        abolish-ing 

bow-ing                  toil-ing  nation-al                gra-cious 

Can  a  word  of  one  syllable  be  divided? 
Do  not  divide  a  syllable  of  one  letter  from  the  rest  of  the 
word.     The  division  euer-y  is  wrong. 

Exercise  26 
Divide  the  following  words  into  syllables,  using  the  sug- 
gestions given  in  the  preceding  exercise: 
accountant  dissatisfaction       manufacturer 

advertisement       economy  material 


anecdote 

annually 

application 

automobile 

beginning 

collection 

comparison 

competent 

confirmation 

consequence 

correspondence 

counterfeit 

customer 


employment 

energetic 

environment 

especially 

establishment 

expenditure 

factory 

furniture 

Ulustration 

impression 

improvement 

judgment 

machinist 


mechanical 

neighborhood 

occupation 

opportunity 

organized 

permanent 

preparation 

president 

quotation 

realize 

receptacle 

recognition 

recommend 


reference 

repeatedly 

salesman  . 

security 

separate 

signature 

specification 

stenography 

suburban 

superintend 

systematic 

telephone 

treasurer 

unanimous 

unusual 


PRONUNCIATION 


17 


Exercise  27  —  Accent 

What  is  accent? 

Divide  into  syllables,  indicate  the  accent,  and  pronounce 
the  following: 

expand  volume  defect  interesting 

mischievous  usually  incomparable  theatre 

exquisite  tedious  hospitable  generally 

column  inquiry  impious 

In  the  following  words  the  meaning  changes  with  the 
accent.     Use  each  word  in  a  sentence  to  show  its  meaning. 

ob'ject  subject  contrast  desert 

ob-ject'  insult  protest  extract 

tor'ment  essay  conflict  compact 

tor-ment'  transfer  compound  survey 

minute  (notice  the  vowel  change) 
refuse  (notice  the  consonant  change) 

Bring  to  class  a  list  of  words  that  you  have  heard  mis- 
pronounced in  your  classes.  Be  sure  that  you  can  pro- 
nounce them  correctly. 

Exercise  28 

The  following  words  are  frequently  mispronounced.  Di- 
vide them  into  syllables,  mark  the  accent,  and  pronounce 
carefully. 


municipal 

exquisite 

champion 

accurately 

interesting 

gondola 

inquiry 

Genoa 

influence 

finance 

inexplicable 

aUas 

illustrate 

deficit 

despicable 

expert 

inventory 

pretense 

mischievous 

impious 

alternate 

dirigible 

perfume 

detail 

CHAPTER  III 

SPELLING   RULES 

Exercise  29  —  Plurals  of  Nouns 

(a)    dress,  dresses  (h)   chair,  chairs 
splash,  splashes  wave,  waves 

business,  businesses  book,  books 

church,  churches  pencil,  pencils 

fox,  foxes  paper,  papers 

The  usual  way  of  forming  the  plural  of  English  nouns  is 
illustrated  by  the  words  in  column  (b)  above.     What  is  it? 

If  you  add  s  to  the  singular  form  dress,  could  you  distin- 
guish the  pronunciation  of  the  plural  from  the  pronunciation 
of  the  singular?  Does  this  suggest  a  reason  for  adding  es 
to  form  the  plural? 

How  many  syllables  must  you  use  to  pronounce  the 
plural  of  fox?  Does  this  suggest  another  reason  for  adding 
es  to  form  the  plural? 

Every  word  that  ends  in  a  sibilant  or  hissing  sound  (ch, 
s,  sh,  sSj  Xy  z)  forms  its  plural  like  fox.  Give  several  illus- 
trations. 

Rule  I .  —  Nouns  regularly  form  the  plural  by  adding  s^ 
but  those  ending  in  a  sibilant  must  add  es. 

Exercise  30 

(a)   lady,  ladies  (b)   valley,  valleys 
ally,  allies  alley,  alleys 

soliloquy,  soliloquies  journey,  journeys 

Name  five  words  belonging  to  group  (a)  above.  Does  a 
vowel  or  a  consonant  precede  the  y  in  each  case? 

Name  other  words  belonging  to  the  group  (b)  above.  Does 
a  vowel  or  a  consonant  precede  the  y  in  each  case? 


SPELLING  RULES 


19 


Rule  2.  —  Nouns  ending  in  y  preceded  by  a  consonant 
(and  nouns  ending  in  quy)  form  the  plural  by  changing  y 
to  i  and  adding  es. 

Exercise  31  —  Words  ending  in  o 

{a) 
potato,  potatoes  hero,  heroes  mulatto,  mulattoes 

tomato,  tomatoes         buffalo,  buffaloes  cargo,  cargoes 

negro,  negroes  echo,  echoes  motto,  mottoes 


memento,  mementos 
canto,  cantos 
soprano,  sopranos 


(6) 
solo,  solos  piano,  pianos 

halo,  halos  lasso,  lassos 

zero,  zeros  quarto,  quartos 

stilletto,  stillettos 

The  older  English  words  ending  in  0  form  the  plural  by 
adding  eSy  as  in  potatoes;  those  more  recently  taken  into 
the  language  form  the  plural  by  adding  5,  as  in  quartos. 


leaf,  leaves 
loaf,  loaves 
half,  halves 
life,  lives 
self,  selves 


Exercise  32  — 

calf,  calves 
sheaf,  sheaves 
wolf,  wolves 
beef,  beeves 
knife,  knives 


Nouns  in  f  and  fe 
wife,  wives 
shelf,  shelves 
elf,  elves 
wharf,  wharves  (or  wharfs) 


With  the  exception  of  the  words  given  above,  nouns  end- 
ing in  an/  sound  form  the  plural  in  the  regular  way;  as, 

hoof,  hoofs  scarf,  scarfs  beliefs  beliefs 

chief,  chiefs  reef,  reefs  grief,  griefs 

Exercise  33  —  Irregular  Plurals 

Some  nouns  form  their  plural  by  a  change  of  vowel;  as, 

man  men  foot  feet 

woman      women  tooth         teeth 

goose'       geese  mouse       mice 

A  few  words  retain  the  old  time  plural  en;  as, 

brother     brethren 
child         children  ox  oxen 


20  WORD   STUDY 

A  few  words  are  the  same  in  both  singular  and  plural;  as, 

sheep,  trout,  deer 

Some  nouns  have  two  plurals  which  differ  in  meaning;  as, 

Singular  Plural 

brother  brothers      brethren 

penny  pennies       pence 

pea  peas  pease 

die  dies  dice 

Consult  a  dictionary  for  the  difference  in  meaning  between 
the  two  plurals  of  each  word. 

Exercise  34  —  Compound  Nouns 
Singular  Plural 

brother-in-law  brothers-in-law 

father-in-law  fathers-in-law 

court-martial  courts-martial 

commander-in-chief  commanders-in-chief 

man-of-war  men-of-war 

major  general  major  generals 

goose  quill  goose  quills 

bill  of  fare  bills  of  fare 

spoonful  spoonfuls 

cupful  cupfuls 

Rule  3.  —  Compound  nouns  usually  add  the  sign  of  the 
plural  to  the  fundamental  part  of  the  word. 

Note.  —  In  spoonfuls  the  thought  is  one  spoon  many  times  full. 

Plural  of  Letters  and  Figures 

Rule  4.  —  Letters  and  figures  form  the  plural  by  adding 
the  apostrophe  (')  and  sy  as, 

a    a's  3    3's 

w   w's  5    5's 

The  same  rule  applies  to  the  plural  of  words  which  ordi- 
narily have  no  plural;  as. 

Don't  use  so  many  and^s  and  ifs. 


SPELLING  RULES 


21 


Exercise  35  —  Foreign  Plurals 

Some  nouns  derived  from  foreign  languages  retain  their 
original  plural.     The  following  are  in  common  use: 

Consult  a  dictionary  for  their  pronunciation  and  definition. 


Singidar 

Plural 

Singular 

Plural 

crisis 

crises 

stratum 

strata 

thesis 

theses 

radius 

radii 

hypothesis 

hypotheses 

parenthesis 

parentheses 

focus 

foci 

synopsis 

synopses 

datum 

data 

basis 

bases 

alumnus 

alumni 

automaton 

automata 

alumna 

alumnae 

analysis 

analyses 

oasis 

oases 

nucleus 

nuclei 

axis 

axes 

phenomenon 

phenomena 

genus 

genera 

Some  words  admit  of  two  plurals,  one  the  foreign  plural, 
and  one  the  regular  English  plural;   as, 


Singidar 

Plural 

beau 

beaux 

beaus 

formula 

formulae 

formulas 

vertex 

vertices 

vertexes 

index 

indices 

indexes 

cherub 

cherubim 

cherubs 

seraph 

seraphim 

seraphs 

bandit 

banditti 

bandits 

Consult  a  dictionary  to  see  whether  there  is  any  difference 
of  meaning  between  the  two  plurals  of  these  words. 

Exercise  36  —  The  Formation  of  Participles 

Rap,  rapping;  rapped  Reap,  reaping,  reaped 

Rap  is  a  monosyllable  ending  in  a  single  consonant  pre- 
ceded by  a  single  vowel.  The  final  consonant  in  such  words 
is  doubled  before  a  suffix  beginning  with  a  vowel  is  added. 

In  reap  the  final  consonant  is  not  doubled  because  it  is 
preceded  by  two  vowels. 


22 


WORD  STUDY 

2,ke  the  participles  of  the  following 

verbs: 

chat                      lap                      suit 
cheat                    leap                    sit 
rot                        train                   sop 
root                       trim                    soap 

step 
steep 
trot 
treat 

Trap,  trapping,  trapped  Track,  tracking,  tracked 

Why  is  the  final  consonant  in  trap  doubled  before  ing  or 
ed  is  added? 

The  final  consonant  in  track  is  not  doubled  because  track 
ends  with  two  consonants. 

Pin,  pinning  Pine,  pining 

Pine  drops  the  silent  e  because  the  tendency  in  English 
is  to  drop  endings  that  are  not  needed  for  pronunciation 
before  adding  a  suffix  beginning  with  a  vowel. 

Form  the  participles  of  the  following  verbs: 


knot 

rob 

flop 

note 

robe 

elope 

deal 

swim 

quit 

(w  is  not  here  a  vowel) 

clap 

strike 

crawl 

{w  is  here  a  vowel) 

stop 

oil 

wax 

{x  equals  cks) 

peal 

rush 

bow 

(w  is  here  a  vowel) 

Exercise 

37 

Exercise  36  applies  also  to  words  of  more  than  one  syllable 
accented  on  the  last  syllable,  if  they  retain  the  accent  on 
the  same  syllable  after  the  suflSx  is  added.     Thus  we  have 

Rule  5.  —  Monosyllables  or  words  accented  on  the  last 
syllable,  ending  in  a  single  consonant  preceded  by  a  single 
vowel,  double  the  final  consonant  before  adding  a  suflix 
beginning  with  a  vowel. 

Form  participles  from  the  following  words  that  are  accented 
on  the  last  syllable: 


y^m  pref< 

^^P  refei 


SPELLING  RULES 


23 


prefer 

intervene 

escape 

refer 

reveal 

acquire 

occur 

repeal 

secure 

permit 

pursue 

conceal 

interfere 

erase 

arrange 

retain 

control 

acquit 

expel 

contain 

forbid 

incur 

forget 

repel 

Form  participles  from  the  following  words  not  accented 
on  the  last  syllable: 

benefit  travel  marvel  shelter 

revel  answer  exhibit  render 

quarrel  profit  shovel  limit 

Words  in  which  the  accent  changes  do  not  double  the  final 
consonant  before  adding  a  suffix  beginning  with  a  vowel;  as, 

confer      conference  infer        inference 

refer        reference  prefer      preferable 

Explain  why  the  final  consonant  is  not  doubled  in  each  of 
the  following  words: 

neglect  neglecting  lean  leaning 

prefer  preference  select  selecting 

creep  creeping  receipt  receipting 

wonder  wondering  answer  answering 

Exercise  38 

Rule  6.  —  In  forming  the  present  participle  of  verbs  end- 
ing in  y^  retain  the  y  before  adding  ing;  as, 

study       studying  obey        obeying 

carry       carrying  convey    conveying 

pity         pitying 

In  forming  the  perfect  participle,  if  in  the  present  tense  the 
y  is  preceded  by  a  consonant,  the  y  is  changed  to  i  and  ed 
added;  if  the  y  is  preceded  by  a  vowel,  the  y  is  retained;  as, 

study         studied        carry        carried        pity        pitied 
but 

obey  obeyed        convey      conveyed 

Compare  with  Rule  2. 


24  WORD   STUDY 

Exercise  39 
Rule  7.  —  In  words   containing  a  long  e  sound  spelled 
either  ie  or  ei,  el  follows  c;  ie  follows  one  of  the  other  con- 
sonants; as, 

ei  ie 

deceive  relieve  siege 

perceive  believe  yield 

receive  belief  grief 

conceive  chief  field 

conceit  priest  piece 

receipt  niece  wield 

reprieve        lien 

Exceptions,  —  Either,  neither,  weird,  seize,  leisure. 

The  following  couplet  may  help  in  remembering  when  to 
write  ie  and  when  to  write  ei: 

When  the  letter  c  you  spy. 
Put  the  e  before  the  i. 

Exercise  40  —  The  Pronunciation  of  c  and  g 

The  letter  c  is  pronounced  sometimes  like  5  and  sometimes 
like  k. 

What  sound  does  c  have  before  a?    Illustrate. 

Before  ^?     Illustrate. 

Before  i?     Illustrate. 

Before  ol    Illustrate. 

Before  w?     Illustrate. 

Before  3;?     Illustrate. 

.  If  c  is  pronounced  hke  ^,  it  is  called  hard  and  is  marked  )?. 

If  c  is  pronounced  like  5,  it  is  called  soft  and  is  marked  q.  The 
mark  used  to  indicate  the  soft  c  is  called  the  cedilla. 

Make  a  statement  telling  when  c  is  hard  and  when  it  is 
soft. 

What  sound  does  g  have  before  each  of  the  vowels,  as 
in  game,  gone,  gymnasium,  Gunther,  gentle? 

Rxile  8.  —  C  and  g  usually  are  soft  before  e^  i,  and  y. 


SPELLING  RULES  25 

Exercise  41 

Words  ending  in  silent  e,  according  to  Rule  5,  drop  the 
e  before  a  suffix  beginning  with  a  vowel.  Exceptions  occur 
when  the  e  is  needed  to  preserve  the  soft  sound  of  c  and  g. 
Tell  why  e  is  dropped  in  encouraging  and  retained  in 
courageous. 

In  words  containing  dg,  di?,  m  judge  and  lodge,  the  d  gives 
the  g  the  soft  sound,  and  there  is  no  need  to  retain  the  e 
before  adding  a  suffix,  as  in  judgment. 

Rule  9.  —  Words  ending  in  silent  e  usually  drop  the  e 
before  adding  a  suffix  beginning  with  a  vowel,  unless  the 
€  is  needed  to  preserve  the  pronunciation ;  as  after  soft  c 
and  g,  when  the  suffix  begins  with  a  ox  o. 

Tell  why  the  e  is  retained  before  the  suffix  in  the  following: 

noticeable  damageable        pronounceable         outrageous 

courageous  peaceable  serviceable  manageable 

Tell  why  the  e  is  dropped  before  adding  the  suffix  in  the 
following: 

managing  curable  erasure 

besieging  admirable  realization 

receiving  obliging  *        precedence 

perseverance 

The  fact  that  c  has  two  different  sounds  causes  a  slight 
peculiarity  in  words  ending  in  c.  Final  c  has  the  sound  of 
k.  When  words  end  in  c,  the  letter  k  is  usually  added  before 
a  suffix  beginning  with  either  e,  i,  or  y,  to  show  that  c  is  not 
pronounced  like  s;   as, 

frolic  frolicked  frolicking 

If  the  k  is  not  added,  the  c  changes  its  pronunciation;  as, 

public  publicity 

Exercise  42 

It  follows  by  inference  from  Rule  9  that  words  ending  in 

silent  e  retain  the  e  before  a  suffix  beginning  with  a  consonant; 

as, 


26 


WORD   STUDY 


move 

movement 

disgrace 

disgraceful 

defense 

defenseless 

fate 

fateful 

arrange 

arrangement 

fierce 

fiercely 

noise 

noiseless 

manage 

management 

severe 

severely 

rude 

rudeness 

Exceptions. 

—  Truly,  duly, 

wisdom. 

,  awful,  wholly. 

Bring  to  class  a  list  of  twenty  words  that  retain  the  final 

e  before  a  sufhx  beginning 

with  a 

consonant. 

Exercise  43 
What   spelling   rule   does   each   of   the   following   words 


illustrate? 

advantageous 

mimicking 

arrangement 


gigantic 

piece 

receipt 


boxes 

libraries 

keys 


admittance 
occurrence 
acquittal 


Exercise  44  —  Abbreviations 

Write  abbreviations  for  the  months  of  the  year, 
there  any  that  should  not  be  abbreviated? 

The  abbreviations  for  the  states  and  territories  are: 


Are 


Alabama,  Ala. 

Arizona,  Ariz. 

Arkansas,  Ark. 

California,  Cal. 

Colorado,  Colo. 

Connecticut,  Conn. 

Delaware,  Del. 

District  of  Columbia,  D.C. 

Florida,  Fla. 

Georgia,  Ga. 

Idaho,  Idaho 

lUinois,  lU. 

Indiana,  Ind. 

Iowa,  la. 

Kansas,  Kans. 

Kentucky,  Ky. 

Louisiana,  La. 

Maine,  Me. 


Maryland,  Md. 
Massachusetts,  Mass. 
Michigan,  Mich. 
Minnesota,  Minn. 
Mississippi,  Miss. 
Missouri,  Mo. 
Montana,  Mont. 
Nebraska,  Nebr. 
Nevada,  Nev. 
New  Hampshire,  N.H. 
New  Mexico,  N.  Mex. 
New  York,  N.Y. 
New  Jersey,  N.J. 
North  Carolina,  N.C. 
North  Dakota,  N.  Dak. 
Ohio,  0. 

Oklahoma,  Okla. 
Oregon,  Ore. 


SPELLING  RULES 


27 


Pennsylvania,  Pa. 
Philippine  Islands,  P.I. 
Porto  Rico,  P.R. 
South  Carolina,  S.C. 
South  Dakota,  S.D. 
Tennessee,  Tenn. 
Texas,  Tex. 


Utah,  Utah 
Vermont,  Vt. 
Virginia,  Va. 
Washington,  Wash. 
Wisconsin,  Wis. 
West  Virginia,  W.  Va. 
Wyoming,  Wyo. 


Note.  —  It  is  much  better  to  write  the  full  name  rather  than  the 
abbreviation  whenever  the  former  would  make  the  address  clearer, 
especially  as  regards  similar  abbreviations,  such  as  Cal.  and  Colo. 

Exercise  45  —  Abbreviations  of  Commercial  Terms 


A  I,  first  class 

@,  at 

acct.,  account 

adv.,  advertisement 

agt.,  agent 

a.m.,  forenoon 

amt.,  amount 

app.,  appendix 

atty.,  attorney 

av.,  average 

avoir.,  avoirdupois 

bal.,  balance 

bbl.,  barrel 

B/L,  bill  of  lading 

bldg.,  building 

B/S,  biU  of  sale 

bu.,  bushel 

C.B.,  cash  book 

C,  hundred 

coll.,  collection,  collector 

Co.,  company* 

C.O.D.,  cash  on  delivery 

cr.,  creditor 

cwt.,  hundredweight 

D.,  five  hundred 

dept.,  department 

disc,  discount 

do.,  ditto 

dr.,  debtor,  debit 


doz.,  dozen 

E.  &  O.E.,  errors  and  omissions 

excepted  - 
ea.,  each 
e.g.,  for  example 
etc.,  and  so  forth 
exch.,  exchange 
ft.,  foot 

f.o.b.,  freight  on  board 
gal.,  gallon 
i.e.,  that  is 
imp.,  imported 
in.,  inches 

inst.,  this  month  (instant) 
Jr.,  junior 
kg.,  keg 
lb.,  pound 
ltd.,  limited 
mdse.,  merchandise 
mem.,  memoriandum 
mo.,  month 

M.S.  (MSS).,  manuscript 
mtg.,  mortgage 
N.B.,  take  notice 
no.,  number 
O.K.,  aU  right 
per,  by 

p.m.,  afternoon 
%,  per  cent 


28 


WORD   STUDY 


pkg.,  package 

pp.,  pages 

pr.,  pair 

pc,  piece 

pk.,  peck 

prox.,  next  month 

pt.,  pint 

Sr.,  senior 


St.,  street 

str.,  steamer 

ult.,  last  month 

U.S.M.,  United  States  Mail 

viz.,  namely 

vol.,  volume 

W/B,  way  bill 

wt.,  weight 


CHAPTER  IV 

WORD   ANALYSIS 

To  learn  English  words  thoroughly  we  must  spend  some 
thought  on  the  way  in  which  they  are  made  up,  on  the  lan- 
guage from  which  they  have  been  derived,  and  on  the  changes 
in  meaning  made  by  adding  prefixes  and  suffixes.  Three 
important  influences  in  building  the  English  have  been  the 
Anglo  Saxon,  the  Greek,  and  the  Latin  languages.  The 
simplest  words  in  the  language  are  Anglo  Saxon.  The  fol- 
lowing exercises  illustrate  how  words  have  been  multiplied 
by  Anglo  Saxon  prefixes  and  suffixes. 

Exercise  46 

Name  as  many  words  as  you  can  that  make  use  of  each 
of  the  following  prefixes.  Give  only  such  as  are  recogniz- 
able English  words  without  the  prefix. 

a  —  aboard  mis  —  misjudge 

he  —  becalm  un  —  unknown 

fore  —  foretell  up  —  uproot 

Give  the  meaning  of  each  of  the  prefixes  used  above. 
What  part  of  speech  does  each  prefix  make? 

Exercise  47 

Using  the  following  Teutonic  suffixes,  form  English  words. 
Be  careful  that  the  root  taken  alone  is  an  English  word. 

dom  —  kingdom  ness  —  goodness 

hood  —  manhood  ship  —  friendship 

What  does  each  suffix  mean? 
What  part  of  speech  does  it  make? 


so  WORD   STUDY 

Exercise  48 

As  above,  form  words  using  the  following  suffixes: 

en  —  darken  ful  —  fearful 

en  —  golden  ly  —  smoothly 

ish  —  sweetish  like  —  childlike 

less  —  fearless  some  —  lonesome 

Define  each  suffix. 

What  part  of  speech  does  it  make? 

Exercise  49  —  Greek  Roots 

Below  is  given  a  list  of  common  Greek  roots  with  the 
English  meaning  of  each.  Form  words  using  one  or  more  of 
the  roots  for  each  word,  and  define  the  words  you  make. 
For  instance,  give  the  meaning  of  telephone ^  telegraph,  and 
monarch. 

Greek     English  Greek       English 

phon  —  hear  chron  —  time 

tele     —  far  cycl    —  circle 

graph  —  write  geo     —  earth 

scop    —  see  polit  —  government 

micro  —  small  era     —  rule 

mono  —  one  demo  —  people 

arch    —  chief  hydro  —  water 

metr   — measure  poly    — many 

haro    —  pressure,  weight  pluto  —  riches 

How  many  names  of  modern  inventions  have  you  made? 

Exercise  50 
What  words  belonging  to  your  vocabulary  end  in  the 
following  suffixes?     Choose  only  such  as  have  an  English 
word  for  the  root. 

Adjective  Suflfixes 

1.  able,  ible — able  to  be,  fit  to  be 
Readable,  fit  to  be  read. 

2.  al,  eal,  ial — relating  to,  having  to  do  with 

3.  ant  J  ent —  being,  inclined  to 


WORD  ANALYSIS  31 

4.  ate  —  having  the  quality  of,  inclined  to 

5.  ic  —  like,  relating  to 

6.  ive  —  relating  to,  of  the  nature  of,  belonging  to 

7.  ory^  ary —  relating  to 

8.  ous  —  full  of,  abounding  in 

Verb  Suffixes 

1.  ate —  to  make 

2.  fy,  ify —  to  make 

3.  ise,  ize —  to  make 

Noun  Suffixes 

1.  age —  condition,  act,  collection  of 

2.  ance,  ancy,  ence^  ency —  state  of  being 

3.  ary,  ory —  one  who,  place  where,  that  which 

4.  ant,  ent  —  one  who 

5.  ist,  ite —  one  who 

6.  ion,  sion,  tion  —  act  of,  state  of  being 

7.  ity,  ty  —  quality  of  being 

8.  ment  —  that  which,  act  or  state  of  being 

9.  or,  er,  ar  —  one  who 

10.  try  —  state  of 

11.  tude,  itude —  condition  of  being 

12.  ure —  condition  of  being,  that  which 

Exercise  51 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  more  commonly  used  Latin 
prefixes : 

1.  a,  ah  —  away  from 

2.  ad  —  toward 

3.  ante  —  before 

4.  anti  —  against 

5.  hi  —  two,  twice 

6.  circum  —  around 

7.  con  —  together  with,  against 

8.  contra  —  against 

9.  de  —  from,  apart  from,  down 

from 

10.  dis  —  apart,  not 

11.  dia  —  through 

12.  ex  —  out  of 


13- 

m,  en  —  mto 

en  —  to  cause  to  be 

14. 

in,  un  —  not 

15. 

inter  —  between 

16. 

intra—  toward  the  inside 

17. 

mono  —  one 

18. 

non  —  not 

19. 

oh — in    the    way    of, 

against 

20. 

per  —  through 

21. 

pre  —  before 

22. 

post  —  after 

23. 

pro  —  before 

32 

WORD   STUDY 

24.   re  — 

■  again,  back 

28.   super  — 

-  above,       moi 

25.   semi 

—  half,  partly 

than 

26.   se — 

-  away  from 

29.   trans  — 

-  across 

27.   suh- 

—  under,  below 

30.  uni  —  one 

Exercise  52 

Analyze 

the  following 

words,  telling  prefix,  root,  siifi&; 

part  of  speech,  and  meaning: 

business 

package 

truthfulness 

unsuccessful 

useless 

anteroom 

workmanlike 

agreement 

prefix 

monotone 

nervousness 

uniformity 

beautify 

breakage 

disrespectful 

misguidance 

semicircle 

pleasant 

perfection 

crystallize 

kingship 

sameness 

progressive 

precaution 

incase 

subway 

undeniable 

imaginary 

enrich 

disown 

displeasure 

supernatural 

pianist 

readmit 

endurance 

melodious 

bicycle 

adjuster 

reaction 

interlineal 

Exercise  53 

When  the  prefixes  ad^  con,  and  in  are  used  to  form  English 
words,  the  final  consonant  of  each  is  often  changed  to  the 
initial  consonant  of  the  root  to  which  it  is  joined. 

Ad  assumes  the  forms  ah,  ac,  af,  ag,  aly  an,  ap,  ar,  as,  at, 
assimilating  the  d  with  the  first  letter  of  the  word  to  which 
it  is  prefixed;   as, 

ab-breviate  al-literation  ar-rest 

ac-cept  al-lot  as-sign 

ac-cumulate  an-nex  as-sist 

af-fect  an-nounce  at-tract 

af-flict  ap-position  at-tribute 

ag-gregate  ap-prove  at-tune 

Con  assumes  the  forms  col,  cor,  com,  by  assimilation;  it 
takes  the  form  com  before  p;  and  it  drops  the  n  before  a 
vowel;    as, 

col-lateral  com-mercial  com-pose 

col-lect  cor-relate  co-operate 

corn-mission  cor-respond  co-ordinate 


WORD  ANALYSIS  33 

In  assumes  the  forms  il,  im,  ir,  by  assimilation  and  takes 
the  form  of  im  before  p, 

il-lusion  im-migrate  ir-ruption  im-port 

Exercise  54  —  Peculiar  Adjective  Endings 

The  suffixes  able  and  ihle  are  sometimes  troublesome 
because  it  is  difficult  to  know  which  ending  to  write.  As 
a  rule,  if  the  new  word  was  made  from  another  English  word, 
the  ending  is  able,  as  blamable.  The  words  ending  in  ible 
are  derived  from  the  Latin,  and,  as  a  rule,  the  ending  cannot 
easily  be  separated  from  the  root  and  still  leave  the  latter 
an  English  word.     Examples  are: 

divisible  intelligible  digestible  audible 

visible  permissible         flexible  incredible 

possible  terrible  horrible  indelible 

The  suffixes  ant  and  ent  must  also  be  carefully  noted.  No 
rule  can  be  given  for  using  one  rather  than  the  other.  When- 
ever in  doubt,  consult  a  dictionary.    Note  the  following: 

ant  ent 

important  independent 

pleasant  convalescent 

triumphant  competent 

luxuriant  convenient 

stagnant  confident 

The  endings  eous  and  ious,  where  e  and  i  are  often  con- 
fused, are  illustrated  in  the  following: 


eous 

tons 

hideous 

delirious 

miscellaneous 

impious 

courteous 

studious 

The  endings  cious  and  tious  are  shown  in  the  following: 

cious 

tious 

conscious 

fictitious 

precious 

superstitious 

delicious 

cautious 

gracious 

ambitious 

suspicious 

nutritious 

34 


WORD   STUDY 


The  endings  gious  and  geous  are  illustrated  in  the  following: 
gious  geous 

religious  courageous 

Exercise  55  —  Peculiar  Noun  and  Verb  Endings 

Nouns  in  ance  and  ence: 

ance  ence 


acceptance 

intelligence 

appearance 

reference 

annoyance 

patience 

acquaintance 

negligence 

remittance 

diligence 

ignorance 

residence 

Nouns  in  sion,  cion,  and  Hon: 

sion 

cion 

Hon 

exclusion 

coercion 

acquisition 

aversion 

suspicion 

precaution 

Verbs  in  ise^  yze, 

and  ize: 

ise 

yze 

ize 

advise 

analyze 

baptize 

supervise 

paralyze 

recognize 

Verbs  in  ceed,  sede,  and  cede: 

ceed 

sede 

cede 

exceed 

supersede 

concede 

proceed 

intercede 

succeed 

precede 

Exercise  56 

What  other  words  can  you  form  from  the  following? 

xplain  what  prefixes  or  suffixes 

you  use 

in  each  case  and 

hat  part  of  speech  you  form. 

success 

consider 

real 

change 

please 

doubt 

publish 

attend 

occur 

apply 

regular 

satisfy 

emphasize 

industry 

operate 

assess 

second 

busy 

practice 

resist 

WORD   ANALYSIS 


35 


expense 

distribute 

organ 

define 

depend 

locate 

work 

sense 

attract 

install 

desire 

preside 

effect 

vital 

count 

sign 

Exercise  57 

There  are  many  words  the  meanings  of  which  are  easily 
confused.  The  spelling  and  the  definitions  of  such  must  be 
mastered.  Analysis  in  this  exercise  and  in  the  one  following 
does  not  require  separation  into  prefix,  root,  and  suffix,  but  it 
necessitates  a  careful  study  of  the  words,  first,  to  note  the 
difference  in  spelling;  second,  to  consult  a  dictionary,  if 
necessary,  for  the  difference  in  meaning. 

Define  each  word  clearly. 

Use  each  in  a  sentence  to  illustrate  its  meaning. 

common — mutual 
complementary  —  complimentary 
continual  —  continuous 
contraction  —  abbreviation 
contradiction  —  denial 
currant  —  current 
defective  —  deficient 
deprecate  —  depreciate 
effective  —  efficient 
eligible  —  illegible 
eminent  —  prominent 
expect  —  hope 
intelligent  —  intelligible 


accept  —  except 
add  —  annex 
advice  —  advise 
affect  —  effect 
after  —  afterward 
ascend  —  assent 
assure  —  promise 
attain  —  obtain 
benefit  —  advantage 
brief  —  concise 
center  —  middle 
claim  —  maintain 
combine  —  combination 


Exercise  58 
As  above,  define  each  word  carefully  and  use  it  in  a  sen- 
tence to  illustrate  its  meaning. 


healthful  —  healthy 
inventory  —  invoice 
invite  —  invitation 
last  —  latest 
later  —  latter 
liable  —  likely  —  apt 
loose  —  lose 


proficient  —  efficient 

proscribe  —  prescribe 

purpose  —  propose 

quiet  —  quite 

recommend  —  recommendation 

refer  —  allude 

repair  —  fix 


36 


WORD   STUDY 


need  —  want  requirement  —  requisite  —  requisition 

perspective  —  prospective    respectfully  —  respectively 


positive  —  definite 
practicable  —  practical 
precede  —  proceed 
principal  —  principle 


scarcely  —  hardly 
stationary  —  stationery 
therefore  —  accordingly 


500  SPELLING  WORDS 


Lesson  i 

business 

losing 

surprising 

height 

receive 

loosely 

Saturday 

depth 

beHeve 

across 

Wednesday 

eighth 

wholly 

whether 

excellent 

daily 

obliged 

describe 

exercise 
Lesson  2 

earnest 

attached 

decision 

probable 

seize 

attacked 

buying 

usable 

siege 

gentlemen 

studying 

salable 

friend 

although 

relying 

desirable 

Messrs. 

thoroughly 

occasion 

honorable 
Lesson  3 

nickel 

disappoint 

knew 

acquittal 

stopped 

disappear 

design 

occurrence 

referred 

disapprove 

forty 

compelling 

planned 

disagree 

fourth 

beginning 

swimming 

anxious 

purpose 

permitted 
Lesson  4 

submitted 

all  right 

persuade 

Norwegian 

variety 

already 

pursued 

possession 

prairie 

tongue 

prepared 

accumulate 

neighbor 

separate 

repaired 

dissatisfy 

soldier 

crystal 

necessary 

dissolve 
Lesson  5 

shoulder 

their 

awkward 

opportunity 

scheme 

advise 

mucilage  v 

development 

schedule 

advice 

familiar 

statistics 

accurately 

laboratory 

peculiar 

accidental 

efficient 

until 

similar 

competent 

Spaniard 

WORD  ANALYSIS 


37 


Lesson  6 

policy 

patient 

merchandise 

conscious 

rough 

ancient 

mercantile 

precious 

disease 

partial 

scarcity 

suspicion?^ 

balance 

facial 

indebted 

physician 

decease 

ambitious 

estimate 
Lesson  7 

caution 

ascend 

noticeable 

vengeance 

emergency 

assent 

serviceable 

address 

compUance 

minute 

manageable 

salary 

reference 

conceal 

exchangeable         currency 

apparel 

immense 

advantageous        withhold 

typical 

Lesson  8 

edition 

especially 

appreciate 

imitate 

addition 

pamphlet 

essential 

initial 

identify 

illustrate 

eligible 

official 

illegal 

February 

legible 

curtain 

nuisance  . 

punctual 

illegible 
Lesson  9 

adjacent 

later 

crystallize 

lieutenant 

lenient 

latter 

neutralize 

anthracite 

naphtha 

weighed 

conceit 

bituminous 

liquid 

destroy 

catarrh 

rheumatism 

gauge 

indelible 

colonel 

influential 
Lesson  10 

sieve  ^/ 

duly 

interfered 

analyze 

attorneys 

durable 

transferred 

analysis 

specialty 

mutual 

reconcile 

paralyze 

sympathy 

bargain 

accidental 

banana 

campaign 

misspell 

irregular 

molasses 
Lesson  11 

mattress 

ached 

designate 

vicinity 

recognize 

social 

available 

guardian 

technical  / 
hygiene  \y 

forfeit 

adequately 

celebrate 

opposite 

subordinate 

porcelain 

angel 

parallel 

sufficient 

poultice 

angle 

38 

WORD   STUDY 

Lesson  12 

society 

associate 

rumored 

remittance 

sirloin 

definitely 

courtesy 

remuneration 

laborer 

spherical 

obstinacy 

restaurant  ../ 

visitor   / 

commercial 

financial 

government 

souvenir 

permissible 

sapphire 
Lesson  13 

acquaintance 

quite 

appropriate 

convenient 

knowledge 

least 

distinguish 

exaggerate 

principal,  a 

written 

mysterious 

confidential 

stationary,  a 

among 

appearance 

endeavoring 

judgment 

psalm 

conference 

immediately 
Lesson  14 

implement 

assure 

greatly 

embarrassment 

auxiliary 

expect 

grateful 

organization 

conciliate 

prompt 

deserve 

advertisement 

principle,  n 

eliminate 

bureau 

assessment 

stationery,  n 

illuminate 

deficient 

accommodate 

parenthesis 

Lesson  15 

proprietor/ 

coupon 

indispensabl 

e         measure 

length 

innumerable 

condemn 

transient 

vehicle 

investigate 

security 

persistent 

customer 

incandescent 

liniment 

signature 

costumcr 

effervescent 

mosquito 
Lesson  16 

mischievous 

canal 

company's 

repetition 

sulphur 

channel 

real  estate 

abbreviated 

benefited 

liquid 

equivalent 

unabridged 

unanimous 

recent 

assignment 

assurance 

itemize 

trough 

extravagant 

pneumatic  J 
Lesson  17 

calcimine 

precede 

freight 

authority 

leisure       ,y 

proceed 

achieve 

mortgage 

neuralgia 

procession 

between 

specimen 

dyspepsia 

precision 

imagine 

solicitor 

substantial 

extinguish 

autumn 

cooperates 

passenger 

r 


WORD  ANALYSIS 


39 


Lesson  i8 

merely 

mechanical 

preliminary 

omitted 

cashier 

permanent 

miscellaneous 

omission 

urgent 

prominent 

subscription 

committee 

hesitate 

precaution 

incredible 

commission 

anchored 

interval 

anticipation 
Lesson  19 

precisely 

specify 

preparation 

athletics 

deceit 

equity 

coincidence 

excursion 

receipt 

accrue  / 

irresolute 

suggestion 

obstacle 

concrete 

vaccination 

courageous 

promissory  U-^ 

summary 

glycerine 

concession 
Lesson  20 

compulsory  1   - 

deficit 

sceptical  '/ 

anniversary 

rhythm  ' 

mansion 

conscience 

presumption 

rhubarb 

mention 

interruption 

guaranteed 

fatigue 

reckoned 

approximately       prejudice  / 

synopsis 

license 

avoirdupois 

privilege  1/ 
Lesson  21 

emphatic 

scholar 

Elkhart 

industrious 

collision 

scissors 

Memphis 

hideous : 

delusion 

career 

Niagara 

artificial 

oxygen 

sincere 

Raleigh 

cantaloupe 

martyr 

chiffonier 

Oregon 

unscrupulous 
Lesson  22 

apology 

receipt 

Cincinnati 

sovereign 

chemical 

welfare 

Des  Moines 

committee 

frontier 

feigned 

Decatur 

ingredients 

fulfilled 

chord 

Dubuque 

counterfeit 

facsimile 

scythe 

Alleghany 

responsible 
Lesson  23 

identical 

exceed 

Paducah 

foreign 

Cheyenne 

succeed  , 

Eau  Claire 

solemnity 

metallic 

secede  / 

Peoria 

assassinate 

nauseated 

immigrant 

Savannah 

pneumonia 

invariably 

emigrant 

Manila 

diphtheria 

injurious 

40 


WORD   STUDY 


Lesson  24 


adoption 

Minneapolis 

fraudulent 

mahogany 

scientific 

Indianapolis 

negligence 

corduroy 

guidance 

Syracuse 

diligence 

Schenectady 

syllable 

Milwaukee 

ridiculous 

duplicate 

Fort  Wayne 

Valparaiso 

comparative 

reenforce 

Lesson  25 

Duluth 

Massachusetts 

preferable 

periodical 

Missouri 

Connecticut 

preferred 

insertion 

Wisconsin 

enthusiastic 

publicity 

excursion 

luxurious 

acknowledgment 

prevailing 

plateau 

twelfth 

professional 

damageable 

tragedy 

CHAPTER  V 

THE   SENTENCE  AND   ITS   ELEMENTS 

In  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  seen  words  as  they 
are  used  singly.  We  studied  their  pronunciation  and  the 
way  in  which  they  were  formed  to  express  a  definite  mean- 
ing. In  this  chapter  we  shall  begin  a  review  of  grammar, 
a  study  of  words  not  according  to  their  pronunciation  or 
their  definition,  but  according  to  their  use  as  they  are 
arranged  with  other  words  to  express  complete  ideas.  The 
simplest  group  into  which  words  are  thus  arranged  is  the 
sentence,  consisting  of  two  important  parts,  the  subject 
and  the  predicate.  The  subject  is  the  part  about  which 
the  sentence  tells  something,  and  the  predicate  is  the  part 
that  tells  about  the  subject;   as. 

Subject  Predicate 

The  sun  shines  brightly 

There  are  several  different  kinds  of  sentences,  named 
according  to  the  meaning  which  they  express.  They  are 
as  follows: 

The  declarative  sentence  states  a  fact. 

The  interrogative  sentence  asks  a  question. 

The  imperative  sentence  commands  or  entreats. 

The  exclamatory  sentence  expresses  deep  feeling. 

Illustrations 

Declarative:  John  closed  the  door. 
Interrogative:  Did  John  close  the  door? 
Imperative:  Close  the  door. 
Exclamatory:  What  a  noise  the  door  made! 


42  GRAMMAR 

Sentences  are  classified,  also,  according  to  their  structure 
or  form.  If  a  sentence  has  one  subject  and  one  predicate, 
it  is  a  simple  sentence.  If  it  is  made  up  of  two  independent 
parts,  it  is  a  compound  sentence.  If  it  has  one  independent 
part  and  one  or  more  dependent  parts,  each  of  which  con- 
tains a  subject  and  a  predicate  of  its  own,  the  sentence  is 
complex.  The  independent  part  of  the  sentence  is  called  a 
principal  clause^  and  the  dependent  part  is  called  a  subor- 
dinate clause,  A  phrase  is  also  a  dependent  part  of  a 
sentence,  but  it  differs  from  a  subordinate  clause  in  that 
it  contains  no  subject  or  predicate.  Both  phrases  and 
subordinate  clauses  are  used  as  parts  of  speech,  as  nouns, 
adjectives,  or  adverbs.  Thus  we  have  the  following  defini- 
tions: 

A  simple  sentence  contains  one  principal  clause. 

A  compound  sentence  contains  two  or  more  principal 
clauses. 

A  complex  sentence  contains  one  principal  clause  and  one 
or  more  subordinate  clauses. 

A  phrase  is  a  group  of  related  words  used  as  a  part  of 
speech.     (See  Exercises  68  and  69.) 

A  clause  is  a  group  of  words  containing  a  subject  and  a 
predicate.  A  subordinate  clause  is  used  as  a  part  of  speech. 
It  usually  has  an  introductory  word  to  distinguish  it  from 
a  principal  clause.     (See  Exercise  71.) 

Illustrations 

Simple  sentence:  To-day  most  of  the  world's  big  questions  are 
business  questions. 

Complex  sentence:  The  view  that  business  is  only  humdrum  rou- 
tine and  sordid  money -making  needs  revising,  since 
most  of  the  world's  big  questions  are  business  ques- 
tions. 

Compound  sentence:  Many  people  still  belittle  business,  calling 
it  humdrum  routine  and  sordid  money-making,  hut 
this  view  needs  revising. 


m 


THE  SENTENCE  AND  ITS  ELEMENTS       43 

Phrase:  (a)  of  the  world's  big  questions. 

(b)  calling  it  humdrum  routine  and  sordid 
money-making. 
Subordinate  clause:  (a)  that  business  is  only  humdrum  routine  and 
sordid  money-making. 
(b)  since  most  of  the  world's  big  questions  are 
business  questions. 


Exercise  59 

Write  two  of  each  of  the  following  kinds  of  sentences: 
a.  Declarative,  b.  Interrogative,  c.  Imperative,  d.  Exclam- 
atory. 

Using  each  of  the  sentences  below,  tell 

a.  Whether  it  is  simple,  complex,  or  compound. 

b.  Its  subject  and  its  predicate. 

c.  Its  phrases  and  its  subordinate  clause  (if  there  are  any). 

1.  Your  subscription  expires  with  this  issue. 

2.  This  special  offer  will  continue  until  the  tenth  of  November. 

3.  The  last  shipment  of  castings  that  you  made  to  us  is  de- 
cidedly unsatisfactory. 

4.  Your  imitation  typewritten  letters  have  greatly  assisted 
us  in  the  sale  of  our  property,  and  we  thank  you  for  calling  our 
attention  to  them. 

5.  The  advertised  poster  was  sent  to  you  to-day  in  a  special 
tube. 

6.  Without  doubt  you  will  be  interested  in  the  booklet  which 
we  enclose. 

7.  The  machine  which  is  standing  there  has  just  been  repaired. 

8.  The  wheel  that  holds  the  type  may  be  changed  in  an  instant 
by  the  operator. 

9.  Whenever  he  wishes,  the  operator  may  write  in  different 
sizes  of  type  on  the  same  sheet  of  paper. 

10.  Many  of  our  styles  have  been  copied  exactly  from  the  best 
designs  that  have  recently  been  displayed  in  the  Parisian  exhibits. 

11.  Why  are  the  department  stores  acquiring  motor  wagons? 

12.  One  reason  is  the  economy  of  the  motor  wagon. 

13.  Economy  does   not  entirely  explain  the   keenness   which 
department  stores  are  displaying  in  acquiring  motor  wagons. 


44  GRAMMAR 

14.  In  such  establishments  the  quick  dehvery  of  merchandise 
is  a  necessity. 

15.  The  best  means  of  transportation  must  be  employed,  or  a 
loss  of  trade  will  follow. 

16.  Any  one  can  cite  examples  that  prove  that  faults  in  delivery 
cause  a  loss  of  trade. 

17.  Machine  service  develops  fewer  errors  than  horse  service 
(develops). 

18.  The  area  which  department  stores  serve  is  being  greatly 
increased  from  year  to  year,  and  not  even  the  establishment  of 
the  parcel  post  has  avoided  the  necessity  for  sending  package 
merchandise  too  far  distant  for  conveyance  by  horses. 

19.  Electric  machines  usually  make  the  house-to-house  pack- 
age deliveries,  and  gasoline  trucks,  besides  hauling  furniture, 
transfer  large  loads  from  the  store  or  warehouse  to  the  distribut- 
ing stations. 

20.  In  one  store  each  transfer  truck  is  loaded  twice  daily  with 
fifty  trunks  containing  parcels. 

Exercise  60  —  Sentence  Errors 

S.I.  The  Baby  Blunder. — In  writing,  one  of  the 
most  elementary  forms  of  correctness  is  shown  in  the  proper 
division  into  sentences.  The  ability  instinctively  to  end  a 
sentence  at  the  right  place  is  called  the  ^*  sentence  sense.'' 
Students  who  do  not  possess  it  or  who  have  not  learned 
the  difference  between  sentences,  subordinate  clauses,  and 
phrases  frequently  make  the  mistake  of  setting  off  too 
much  or  too  little  for  one  sentence.  For  example,  they  run 
two  sentences  together  as  one;  as, 

Wrong:  Motor  wagons  are  economical,  department  stores  of 
all  large  cities  are  acquiring  them. 

The  sentence,  as  written  above,  contains  one  form  of  the 
sentence  error  —  one  of  the  worst  possible  mistakes  in 
writing.  It  is  sometimes  called  the  comma  fault  or  the 
haby  blunder.  For  brevity  we  shall  call  \t  S  i  (sentence  error 
number  one).  Motor  wagons  are  economical  is  a  principal 
clause.  Department  stores  of  all  large  cities  are  acquiring  them 
is  also  a  principal  clause.    Two  such  clauses  may  not  stand 


THE   SENTENCE  AND   ITS   ELEMENTS       45 


in  the  same  sentence  separated  only  by  a  comma.     To  cor- 
rect, divide  into  two  sentences;  as, 

Right:  Motor  wagons  are  economical.  Department  stores  of 
all  large  cities  are  acquiring  them. 

Sometimes  the  thought  in  the  two  principal  clauses  is 
closely  connected.  In  that  case  they  may  be  put  into  the 
same  sentence,  provided  they  are  properly  connected  or 
separated.  Use  a  comma  plus  a  coordinate  conjunction  (as 
and,  or,  hut)  to  connect  them,  or  a  semicolon  (;)  to  separate 
them. 

Be  particularly  careful  of  the  conjunctive  adverbs  so,  then, 
therefore,  thus,  also,  still,  otherwise,  however,  hence,  conse- 
quently, moreover,  nevertheless.  When  they  are  used  to  join 
the  principal  clauses  of  a  compound  sentence,  a  comma  is 
not  sufficient  punctuation  between  ^the  clauses.  A  semi- 
colon or  a  comma  and  a  coordinate  conjunction  must  be 
used. 

Wrong:  He  had  been  a  good  customer,  so  they  were  sorry  to 
lose  his  trade. 

Right:  He  had  been  a  good  customer;  so  they  were  sorry  to 
lose  his  trade. 

Right:  He  had  been  a  good  customer,  and  so  they  were  sorry 
to  lose  his  trade. 

S.  2.  —  The  first  form  of  the  sentence  error  {S  i)  is  made 
by  using  too  much  for  one  sentence.  The  second  form  (S  2) 
is  made  by  using  too  little.  It  consists  in  writing  a  subordi- 
nate clause  or  a  phrase  as  a  sentence;  as, 

1.  Wrong:  I  told  her  I  would  attend  to  the  matter  at  my 
earliest  convenience.     Probably  on  my  way  from  work  in  the  evening. 

2.  Wrong:  His  doctor  advised  him  to  go  to  Arizona.  Which 
he  decided  to  do. 

Exercise  61 

Each  sentence  should  express  one  complete  thought. 
Some  of  the  following  are  really  two  sentences  (Si),  and 
some  are  only  parts  of  sentences  (5  2).  Correct  each,  nam- 
ing the  mistake. 


{^■'  ■< 


^^^ 


46  GRAMMAR 

1.  You  will  find  the  booklet  interesting  it  is  also  instructive. 

2.  Up  to  last  January  he  was  a  salesman  for  Colgate  &  Co.  ^ 
since  then  he  has  opened  a  business  of  his  own.  ^ 

3.  I  didn't  know  you  had  come,  when  did  you  arrive? 

4.  Did  any  one  take  the  newspaper,  I  left  it  here  only  a 
moment  ago. 

5.  I  shall  take  my  vacation  in  September  have  you  had  yours? 

6.  I  must  go  now  good-bye  I'll  see  you  on  Saturday. 

7.  The  opening  sentence  held  the  man's  attention,  he  read 
it  again  and  again. 

8.  I'll  have  to  run  to  catch  the  train,  otherwise  I  shall  be 
late  for  work. 

9.  The  advertisement  is  attractive,  still  it  has  not  paid  YieU. 

10.  We  wished  to  reduce  office  drudgerv  therefore  we  installed 
adding  and  addressing  machines. 

11.  These  problems  all  require  a  knowledge  of  square  root, for 
example,  take  the  fourth. 

12.  Do  you  expect  to  come  home  for  Christmas  or  shall  you 
stay  in  New  York.1  don't  remember  now  which  you  said.      ^ 

13.  First  I  read  a  statement  that  recommended  the  bonds^then 
I  read  an  article  that  condemned  them^without  question  jthe  result 
was  that  I  didn't  know  what  to  do. 

14.  One-half  of  the  statements  are  here;  the  others  are  in  the 
safe. 

15.  If  your  name  is  not  correct  on  this  envelope,  please  notify 
us. we  wish  to  insure  your  receiving  our  bulletin  regularly^ 

16.  The  supply  of  fruit  was  greater  than  the  demand;  that  is 
why  fruit  was  cheap. 

17.  Flies  are  dangerous.  Especially  in  a  sick  room  from  which 
they  carry  germs  to  others.  ^^l^^. 

18.  In  the  country  the  trees  were  loaded  with  fruit,  their 
branches  had  to  be  propped  so  that  they  would  not  break. 

19.  When  he  was  twenty- three  years  of  age,  Richard  T.  Crane, 
the  late  millionaire ,  head  of  the  immense  Crane  Manufacturing 
Company,  came  to  Chicago,  he  started  a  brass  foundry,  which 
grew  into  the  present  giant  establishment. 

20.  We  spent  last  summer  in  the  Bitter  Root  Valley^ we  camped 
within  view  of  Willoughby  Falls. 

21.  I  want  to  congratulate  you  on  your  appointment.  I  heard 
of  it  only  yesterday. 

22.  It  surely  was  not  I  whom  you  saw.  I  wonder  whom  it  could 
have  been. 


THE   SENTENCE  AND   ITS  ELEMENTS       47 

23.  Not  one  of  us  has  a  salary  of  three  thousand  dollars -so  we 
do  not  worry  over  the  income  tax. 

24.  Please  send  me  the  booklet  you  offered  in  the  Business 
Magazin^4.I'd  also  like  particulars  of  your  advertised  discount 
sale  of  typewriters. 

25.  Sooner  or  later  shingles  are  sure  to  warp  and  curl^thus 
they  pull  out  the  nails  and  allow  the  rain  to  beat  in^furthermore, 
shaded  shingles  soon  rot  and  allow  the  water  to  soak  through. 

26.  This  sealing  and  stamping  machine  is  endorsed  by  business 
men  in  all  our  large  cities-nevertheless  it  is  not  expensive. 

27.  If  you  wish  to  prove  the  excellence  of  our  paper,  just  tear 
off  a  corner  of  this  sheet^hen  tear  off  a  corner  of  your  present 
letterhead^ with  a  magnifying  glass  examine  both  torn  edges. 

28.  The  superior  paper  will  show  long,  linen  fibers, the  poorer, 
on  the  other  hand,  will  have  short,  woody  fibers. 

29.  When  a  German  army  is  on  the  march,  it  stops  every 
twenty  minutes  for  a  rest.  Experiments  Jaftving  showf^  that  a 
soldier  can  cover  more  ground  when  he  is  given  this  period  of 
relaxation. 

30.  Two  thousand  convicts  will  be  released,  according  to  a 
plan  worked  out  by  the  governor;^  jSve  hundred  will  be  given  their 
freedom  at  once,  and,  if  the  plan  is  a  success,  one  thousand  five 
hundred  othejrs  will  be  released.  One-half  their  wages  of  fifty 
cents  a  day  mgo  to  their  families  and  one-half  to  the  penitentiary 
fund.  If  thev  leave  the  state  or  commit  any  crime  while  they 
are  on  parole,  j3  serve  the  balance  of  their  term  and  an  extension 
of  time.  They  will  be  put  to  work  on  roads  and  bridges  .the  coun- 
ties need  several  thousand  such  laborers  ^but  cannot  pay  union 
prices. 

Exercise  62 

Rewrite  the  following,  dividing  into  sentences: 

I 
Dear  Sir: 

There  is  no  safer  way  to  invest  money  than  in  a  good  first 
mortgage  on  city  real  estate, by  a  good  mortgage  we  mean  one  that 
is  properly  drawn  and  with  such  security  as  absolutely  insures 
the  holder  against  loss  ;we  have  made  a  specialty  of  first  mortgage 
loans,*  and  we  offer  investors  the  benefit  of  our  wide  experience 
in  such  matters 'we  investigate  properties  frequently  and  keep 
investors  infornaed  on  their  investment  we  look  after  all  details 


48  GRAMMAR 

and  collections  without  extra  charge^  you  will  find  it  to   your 
interest  to  consult  us. 

Yours  truly, 


Stick  to  your  legitimate  business^  do  not  go  out  into  outside 
operations^  f ew  men  have  brains  enough  for  more  than  one  busi- 
ness, to  dabble  in  stocks;  to  put  a  few  thousand  dollars  into  a  mine, 
a  few  more  into  a  manufactory,  and  a  few  more  into  an  invention 
is  enough  to  ruin  any  man  jbe  content  with  fair  returns  do  not 
become  greedy  do  not  think  that  men  are  happy  in  proportion 
as  they  are  rich  and  therefore  do  not  aim  too  high^be  content  with 
moderate  wealth  make  friends  a  time  will  come  when  all  the  money 
in  the  world  will  not  be  worth  to  you  as  much  as  one  staunch 
friend. 


Sacramento  City  is  a  great  commercial  center^  its  wholesale 
and  jobbing  business  extends  hundreds  of  miles  to  the  north, 
south,  west,  and  east^it  is  fast  becoming  a  substantial  manufac- 
turing center. large  six  and  eight  story  buildings  are  rapidly  taking 
the  place  of  the  old  two  story  structures  .a  new  city  hall  has 
just  been  completed  which  cost  $150,000  aiid  a  new  court  house 
$1,000,000*  the  city  has  recently  issuea  bonds  amounting  to 
$800,000  for  new  schools  ^scarcely  a  week  passes  without  record- 
ing some  new  enterprise  ..all  its  main  highways  are  macadamized', 
so  that  automobile  travel  is  possible  every  day  of  the  year  and 
the  farmer  can  haul  his  produce  to  market  at  a  minimum  cost 
market  conditions  are  good  and  any  class  of  produce  finds  ready 
sale  at  remunerative  prices.- —  (From  an  advertisement.) 

Classify  the  sentences  that  you  have  formed  in  the  fore- 
going exercise: 

1.  According  to  meaning. 

2.  According  to  form. 

Exercise  63  —  Parts  of  Speech 

There  are  eight  different  kinds  of  words  called  parts  of 
speech,  which  are  used  to  make  sentences.  They  are  as 
follows: 


THE  SENTENCE  AND  ITS  ELEMENTS       49 

Noun:  The  horse  is  brown. 
Pronoun:  He  is  the  best  horse  of  all. 
Verb:  He  galloped  to  town. 
Adjective:  The  brown  horse  is  my  favorite. 
Adverb:  He  runs  swiftly. 
Preposition:  We  shall  ride  to  town. 
Conjunction:  The  night  is  clear  and  cold. 
Interjection:  Oh!  My  horse  stumbled. 

Thus  a  noun  names  something.  A  word  that  stands  for 
a  noun  is  a  pronoun.  Sometimes  a  different  part  of  speech 
is  used  like  a  noun,  and  for  the  time  being  it  becomes  a  noun. 
The  verb  is  a  very  important  part  of  speech,  since  without  it 
there  can  be  no  sentence.  The  verb  makes  an  assertion, 
asks  a  question,  or  gives  a  command.  Adjectives  are  words 
that  belong  to  or  describe  nouns  or  pronouns.  Adverbs  go 
with  or  modify  verbs,  adjectives,  or  other  adverbs.  Preposi- 
tions and  conjunctions  connect.  Prepositions  join  their 
objects  to  other  words  in  the  sentence;  conjunctions  join 
words,  phrases,  or  clauses.  An  interjection,  such  as  the 
exclamation  oh,  is  used  without  having  grammatical  relation 
to  some  other  word  in  the  sentence.  A  preposition  always 
takes  an  object,  the  preposition  and  its  object  making  a 
phrase.     Grouping  this  information,  we  have: 

Nouns  are  names  of  persons  and  things. 

Pronouns  are  substitutes  for  nouns. 

Verbs    make    assertions,     ask    questions,     or    give 
commands. 

Adjectives  modify  nouns  and  pronouns. 
Parts         Adverbs  modify  verbs,  adjectives,  and  adverbs. 
OF  \       They  usually  answer  the  questions  how?  when?  where? 

Speech  why?  to  what  degree? 

Prepositions  join  object  nouns  or  pronouns  to  other 
words  in  the  sentence. 

Conjunctions  join  words,  phrases,  and  clauses. 

Interjections  are  independent  words  used  as  exclama- 
tions. 

A  word  is  not  always  the  same  part  of  speech.  We  may 
say,  "Did  you  starch  the  clothes?"  in  which  case  starch  is 


so  GRAMMAR 

a  verb.  A  grocer  may  say,  ^'The  starch  in  these  packages  is 
always  clean."  In  this  sentence  starch  is  a  noun.  The 
part  of  speech  depends  entirely  on  the  way  the  word  is  used. 
In  the  following,  name  the  part  of  speech  of  each  word  in 
italic.    Judge  by  the  way  the  word  is  used  in  the  sentence. 

1.  The  desks  have  green  pads. 

2.  Green  is  a  restful  color. 

3.  In  the  valley  is  a  millj  which  grinds  flour.    It  is  3.  flour 
mill. 

4.  I  saw  him  stretch  out  his  hand. 

5.  The  stretch  of  waste  land  amazed  him. 

6.  Europeans  say  that  Americans  waste  more  than  they  use. 

7.  One  of  our  great  problems  is  how  to  lessen  waste. 

8.  After  the  stormy  night,  the  day  dawned  bright  and  clear. 

9.  He  has  been  working  night  and  day. 

10.  •  The  old  man  went  home  sad  and  weary. 

11.  Home  is  the  best  place  in  the  world. 

12.  We  must  ^we  you  for  such  an  off ense. 

13.  Your  ^we  is  five  dollars. 

14.  We  use  ^we  sand  in  our  concrete. 

15.  I  can  talk  better  than  I  c'an  write. 

16.  John  wrote  the  better  circular. 

17.  Talking  will  not  better  the  matter. 

18.  Young  people  should  learn  to  respect  their  betters, 

19.  Suddenly  there  was  a  pause  in  the  music. 

20.  Did  you  see  those  men  pause  ? 

21.  He  was  our  guide  for  he  knew  the  ins  and  outs  of   the 
place. 

22.  Have  you  ever  been  in  the  house? 

23.  Where  are  you  going  —  in  or  out? 

24.  Good  apples  are  expensive. 

25.  The  good  of  the  people  is  our  first  consideration. 

26.  I  shall  not  go  if  it  rains. 

27.  What  is  the  use  of  saying  if? 

28.  I  like  to  see  her  just  like  this,  for  in  like  mood  I  do  not 
know  her  like. 

29.  Little  drops  of  water  make  the  mighty  ocean. 

30.  I  can  do  little  of  the  work  until  the  typewriter  is  repaired. 

31.  Do  not  belittle  your  work. 

32.  She  studies  too  little. 


THE  SENTENCE  AND   ITS   ELEMENTS       51 

Exercise  64 

Each  of  the  following  may  be  used  as  different  parts  of 
speech.  Write  sentences  illustrating  as  many  uses  as  possi- 
ble for  each  word. 

sound                 paper                dress  ring 

light                   shoe                  box  dawn 

ride                    long                  ink  curb 

iron                    warm                walk  use 

hear           .        cold                  rule  cement 

^  "  Exercise  65 

Tell  which  of  the  words  in  italic  are  adjectives  and  which 
are  adverbs.  Remember  that  an  adjective  goes  with  a  noun 
or  pronoun;  an  adverb  with  another  adverb,  an  adjective,  or 
a  verb,  and  usually  answers  the  question  how  ?  when  ?  where  ? 
why?  how  much?  or  how  long? 

1.  You  are  walking  too /a^^ 

2.  Send  perishable  articles  by /a^Hreight. 

3.  He  has  been  a  well  man  since  he  has  stopped  working 
indoors. 

4.  He  writes  very  well. 

5.  The  fire  is  bright-, 

6.  It  burns  brightly. 

7.  That  is  a  very  poor  reason. 

8.  The  berries  look  good,  but  they  taste  sour. 

9.  They  are  not  good  berries. 

10.  The  sun  shone  brilliant  above  us.  (Compare  with  bril- 
liantly.) 

11.  The  bookkeeper  looks  angry. 

12.  He  looked  at  us  angrily. 

13.  The  flowers  are  sweet. 

14.  They  smell  sweet.     (May  we  say,  The  flowers  smell  sweetly  ?) 

15.  Act  frankly,  speak  gently. 

16.  Let  your  actions  he  frank,  your  speech  gentle. 

17.  Laborers  complain  that  they  have  to  work  too  hard. 

Exercise  66 
Change   the  following   adjectives   to   adverbs.    In   each 
case  use  both  parts  of  speech  in  sentences. 


52  GRAMMAR 

cold  sure  polite  courteous 
smooth  exact  precise  easy- 
bitter  bad  extreme  nice 
loud  general  honest  glad 

Exercise  67 
Tell  which  of  the  words  in  italic  are  prepositions  and  which 
are  adverbs.     Remember  that  a  preposition  begins  a  phrase. 
It  must  be  followed  by  an  object. 

1.  He  is  the  best  man  in  the  office. 

2.  John  was  leaving  as  I  came  in  this  evening. 

3.  He  did  not  have  his  coat  on. 

4.  It  was  hanging  over  his  arm. 

5.  He  stood  on  the  top  step  several  minutes,  wondering  whether 
he  should  wear  the  coat. 

6.  The  handle  fell  off  as  I  took  the  cup  off  the  shelf. 

7.  The  aeroplane  flies  over  the  city. 

8.  I  am  going  over  to  the  factory. 

Write  sentences  using  abovCy  across,  down,  up,  underneath 
both  as  adverbs  and  as  prepositions. 

Exercise  68 — Prepositional  Phrases 

Illustrations 
Adjective:  The  opinions  of  some  people  must  be  taken  with 
caution. 

Adverb:  We  shall  return  within  a  year. 

Noun:  From  New  York  to  San  Francisco  is  a  long  trip. 

What  part  of  speech  is  each  of  the  italicized  phrases  below? 
Remember  that  an  adjective  modifies  a  noun;  an  adverb 
modifies  a  verb,  an  adjective,  or  an  adverb. 

1.  The  waves  are  rolling  in,  white  with  foam. 

2.  A  million  dollars  was  invested  in  the  business. 

3.  I  will  abide  on  thy  right  side  and  keep  the  bridge  with  thee, 

4.  In  summer  milk  soon  turns  sour. 

5.  I  have  come  for  help. 

6.  The  people  on  the  bridge  cheered  for  hours. 

7.  He  threw  up  his  ha,t  for  joy. 

8.  On  the  table  before  them  stood  a  deer  roasted  whole. 


THE  SENTENCE  AND   ITS  ELEMENTS       53 

9.  We  shall  stay  here  until  spring. 

10.  We  came  in  sight  of  the  king^s  palace. 

11.  We  drove  to  the  factory  today  with  the  superintendent. 

12.  He  works  from  sunrise  to  sunset. 

Exercise  69 
The  phrase  introduced  by  a  preposition  is  the  most  common. 
A  list  of  prepositions  follows.     They  should  be  learned. 

except  toward 

for  under 

from  underneath 

in  until 

into  up 

of         ^  upon 

on  with 

over  within 

past  without 

through  to  the  extent  of 

throughout  from  under 

till  according  to 

to  except  for 

Write  three  sentences  containing  prepositional  adjective 
phrases. 

Prepositional  adverbial  phrases  may  express  the  following 
ideas: 

Time,  telling  when  something  happened. 

Place,  telling  where  something  happened. 

Manner,  telling  how  something  happened. 

Means,  telling  how  something  happened. 

Cause  or  purpose,  telling  why  something  happened. 

Degree,  telling  how  long  something  lasted;   how  far  it  went; 

how  much  it  cost,  etc. 
Agent,  telling  hy  whom  it  was  done. 
Accompaniment,  telling  with  whom  it  was  done. 
Write  a  sentence  containing  a  prepositional  phrase  telling: 

1.  when  6.  how  far 

2.  where  7.  how  much 

3.  why  8.   by  whom 

4.  in  what  way  9.   with  whom 

5.  how  long  10.   by  what  means 


about 

before 

above 

behind 

aboard 

below 

across 

beneath 

after 

beside 

against 

between 

along 

betwixt 

amid 

beyond 

amidst 

but  (except) 

among 

by 

around 

concerning 

athwart 

down 

at 

during 

54 


GRAMMAR 


Exercise  70 

Name  all  the  prepositional  phrases  in    Exercise  179,  ex- 
plaining whether  they  are  adjective  or  adverbial. 

Exercise  71  —  The  Clause 
A  subordinate  clause j  like  a  phrase,  is  a  group  of  words  used 
as  a  part  of  speech.    The  chief  difference  lies  in  that  a  clause 
must  have  a  subject  and  a  predicate.     Clauses  are  introduced 

1.  By  relative  pronouns: 

who,  whose,  whom,  which,  what,  that 

2.  By  subordinate  conjunctions: 


when 

because 

than 

unless 

where 
while 

since 
if 

provided 
whereas 

tiU 
until 

as 

as  soon  as 

wherever 

before 

as  if 

as  long  as 

whether 

after 

though              in  order  that 
although           lest 

why 
that 

for 
whenever 

Illustrations 

Adjective 

f  A  lamp  that  smokes 
\  A  smoking  la,mp 

is  a  torture  to 

a  student. 

Adverb: 

When  she  was  good 

Sometimes 
When  she  was  bad 

Sometimes 

she 
she 

was  very,  very  good, 
was  horrid. 

Noun:    I  know 


Does  the  clause  or  the  simple  adverb  give  the  more  definite 
idea? 

j  where  he  lives, 
1      the  house. 

Write  three  sentences  illustrating  adjective  clauses,  three 
illustrating  adverbial  clauses,  and  three  illustrating  noun 
clauses. 

Exercise  72 

Name  all  the  clauses  in  Exercises  179,  185,  and  186. 
Explain  the  use  of  each. 


THE  SENTENCE  AND   ITS  ELEMENTS       55 

Exercise  73 

Write  sentences  using  each  of  the  following  words  to 
introduce  a  phrase,  and  to  introduce  a  clause. 

1.  after  3.   for  5.   until 

2.  before  4.   since 

Remember  that  just  as  a  preposition  must  be  followed  by 
an  object  to  form  a  phrase,  a  conjunction  must  be  followed 
by  a  subject  to  form  a  clause. 

Illustration 

T  t  ^  1  .       .        r  Christmas.  —  Object. 

I  have  not  seen  him  smce  \  .  ^  c^,    ^ 

1  he  went  away.  —  Subject. 

Exercise  74 

Name  the  complete  subject  in  the  following.  Then  name 
the  simple  subject,  explaining  by  what  elements  —  words, 
phrases,  or  clauses  —  it  is  modified. 

Name  the  complete  predicate.  Then  name  the  simple 
predicate,  explaining  by  what  elements  the  verb  is  modified. 

1.  Modern  business  cannot  be  carried  on  by  old-fashioned 
methods. 

2.  When  a  man  engages  in  business,  he  buys  or  sells. 

3.  The  great  routes  of  trade  have  changed  from  time  to  time. 

4.  Your  order  will  be  filled  within  a  few  days. 

5.  Both  blanks  were  properly  filled  out  at  the  time. 

6.  Means  of  travel  have  developed  from  the  slowly  moving 
caravan  to  the  palatial  railway  coach. 

7.  Commerce  originated  when  one  human  being  demanded 
something  which  had  to  be  supplied  by  some  one  else. 

8.  The  latest  American  and  European  styles  will  be  displayed 
in  our  new  millinery  department,  which  will  be  formally  opened 
on  the  first  of  March. 

9.  The  prosperity  of  nations  rests  very  largely  on  the  six 
inches  of  soil  between  the  surface  and  the  subsoil  of  the  territory. 

10.  One  of  the  greatest  losses  to  the  Ohio  farm  lands  in  the 
floods  of  1 9 13  came  about  because  the  water  took  off  the  top 


56  GRAMMAR 

soil  from  the  hillside  and  valleys  and  carried  the  vegetable  ma- 
terial with  it. 

1 1 .  The  conserving  of  the  top  soil  is  one  of  the  greatest  problems 
in  national  prosperity. 

12.  We  trust  that  shipment  about  September  8  will  be  satis- 
factory to  you,  as  it  is  the  best  that  we  can  do  under  the  circum- 
stances. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE   NOUN   AND   THE   PRONOUN 

For  the  plural  of  nouns  see  Chapter  III. 

The  classes  to  which  nouns  belong  are  distinguished  as 
follows: 

A  common  noun  is  the  name  given  to  an  object  to  denote 
the  class  to  which  it  belongs;  as,  hook,  man, 

A  proper  noun  is  the  name  given  to  a  particular  object  to 
distinguish  it  from  others  of  the  same  class;  as,  Mary,  Re- 
publicans, England.  Proper  nouns  should  always  be  capital- 
ized. 

A  collective  noun  is  a  name  which  in  the  singular  denotes 
a  collection.  It  is  usually  plural  in  idea  but  singular  in  use; 
as,  congregation,  crowd. 

An  abstract  noun  is  the  name  denoting  a  quality  of  an 
object;  as,  power,  purity,  strength. 

A  verbal  noun  is  the  name  of  an  action.  As  its  name 
suggests,  it  is  made  from  a  verb;  as,  Sweeping  is  good 
exercise. 

Exercise  75 

In  the  following  sentences  supply  necessary  capital  letters. 
Explain  why  the  same  word  in  one  expression  needs  a  capital 
and  in  another  does  not. 

1.  I  have  just  taken  out  an  endowment  policy  in  the  north- 
western mutual  life  insurance  company. 

2.  There  are  many  mutual  life  insurance  companies  in  the 
country. 

3.  His  refusing  the  terms  was  practically  a  declaration  of 
independence. 

4.  On  the  fourth  of  July  we  celebrate  the  signing  of  the  decla- 
ration of  independence,  the  first  step  in  the  revolutionary  war. 


58  GRAMMAR 

5.  Mexico  has  had  many  revolutionary  wars. 

6.  And  king  Arthur  said,  ''The  king  who  fights  his  people 
fights  himself." 

7.  When  does  the  bank  close? 

8.  I  have  an  account  with  the  first  national  bank. 

9.  This  is  the  first  national  bank  that  was  ever  established  in 
this  country. 

Explain  to  which  class  each  noun  in  the  foregoing  sentences 
belongs.  Be  particularly  careful  to  distinguish  between 
common  and  proper  nouns. 

Exercise  76  —  Pronouns 

The  different  classes  of  pronouns  are  distinguished  as 
follows: 

The  personal  pronoun  is  used  in  place  of  the  name  of  a 
person  or  thing.  The  pronoun  of  the  first  person  indicates 
the  speaker,  the  pronoun  of  the  second  person  indicates  the 
person  spoken  to,  and  the  pronoun  of  the  third  person  indi- 
cates the  person  spoken  of.    They  are  declined  as  follows: 


First  person 

Singular 

Plural 

Nam. 

I 

we 

Pass. 

my,  mine 

our,  ours 

Obj. 

me 

Second  person 

us 

Norn, 

you  (thou) 

you  (ye) 

Poss, 

your,  yours  (thy,  thine) 

your,  yours 

Ohj. 

you  (thee) 

you 

In  modern  usage  you  is  used  for  both  the  singular  and  the 
plural,  but  the  verb  that  goes  with  you  is  always  plural. 

Third  person 

Singular  Plural 
Masc,      Fern.        Neut. 

Nom.      he        she               it  they 

Poss.      his        her,  hers       its  their,  theirs 

Ohj,        him      her               it  them 


THE  NOUN  AND  THE  PRONOUN    59 

Note.  —  The  forms  mine,  thine,  yours,  hers,  ours,  theirs,  and  some- 
times his  are  possessive  case  in  form,  but  nominative  or  objective  case 
in  use.  That  pencil  is  mine  really  means,  That  pencil  is  my  pencil. 
Mine  is  used  as  a  substitute  for  a  possessive  pronoun  and  the  noun  it 
modifies. 

The  personal  pronouns  compounded  with  self  are  used  in 
two  ways: 

1.  Emphatic  pronouns;    as, 

The  buyer  himself  told  me. 

2.  Reflexive  pronouns,  referring  back  to  the  subject  and 
at  the  same  time  being  in  the  objective  case;  as, 

John  slipped  and  hurt  himself 

The  relative  pronoun  is  so  called  because  it  relates  or  refers 
to  another  word,  called  its  antecedent,  to  which  it  joins  the 
clause  that  it  introduces.  The  relative  pronouns  are  whoy 
which,  what,  that;  and  the  compound  relatives  are  whoever , 
whosoever,  whichever,  whichsoever,  whatever,  whatsoever. 

They  are  declined  as  follows: 

Singular  and  Plural 

Nam.        who  which  whoever  whosoever 

Pass.        whose        of  which       whosever  whosesoever 

Ohj,  whom        which  whomever  whomsoever 

That,  what,  whichever,  whichsoever,  whatever,  and  whatso- 
ever are  not  declined.  They  have  the  same  form  in  the 
nominative  and  objectives  cases,  and  are  not  used  in  the 
possessive  case. 

What  is  peculiar  in  that  it  never  has  an  antecedent 
expressed,  but  itself  stands  for  both  antecedent  and  relative. 
It  is  called  the  double  relative.     Compare  the  following: 

I  did  not  hear  the  words  that  he  said. 
I  did  not  hear  that  which  he  said. 
I  did  not  hear  what  he  said. 

'  ''That  is  called  the  restrictive  relative,  because  it  limits  or 
restricts  its  antecedent  to  the  meaning  expressed  in  the 


6o  GRAMMAR 

clause  introduced  by  that.  A  restrictive  clause,  is  one,  there- 
fore, that  is  needed  to  make  the  meaning  of  the  sentence 
clear.     Compare  the  following: 

Non-restrictive:  John  Brown,  who  has  no  disease,  needs  no 
physician. 

Restrictive:  He  that  hath  no  disease  needs  no  physician. 

Notice  that  a  restrictive,  or  necessary,  clause  is  not  sepa- 
rated from  the  rest  of  the  sentence  by  commas. 

Who  and  which  are  sometimes  used  with  restrictive  force; 
as, 

1.  Those  who  have  finished  their  work  may  leave.  (Not  every- 
body.) 

2.  Have  you  read  the  book  which  he  recommended?  (He  rec- 
ommended but  one.) 

Interrogative  pronouns  are  used  in  asking  questions.  They 
are  who^  which ,  what.  Who  refers  to  persons;  which  refers 
to  persons  or  things,  and  is  used  to  distinguish  one  object 
from  another;  what  refers  to  things.  They  are  declined  as 
follows: 

Singular  and  Plural 
Nom.  who  which  what 

Poss.  whose  (of  which)  (of  what) 

Ohj.  whom  which  what 

The  interrogative  pronouns  which  and  what  are  frequently 
used  as  adjectives.  In  this  case  they  are  called  pronominal 
adjectives.     Compare: 

Pronoun:  Which  of  these  hats  do  you  prefer? 
Adjective:  Which  hat  do  you  prefer? 

The  demonstrative  pronouns  are  this  and  that  with  their 
plurals  these  and  those.  They  are  always  used  to  point  out, 
or  demonstrate,  the  noun  to  which  they  refer.  This  and 
these  are  used  for  objects  near  at  hand,  or  recently  named; 
that  and  those  are  used  for  objects  far  away,  or  not  recently 
named. 


THE    NOUN  AND    THE    PRONOUN  6 1 

The  demonstrative  pronouns  are  frequently  used  as  adjec- 
tives; as, 

Pronoun:    That  is  my  book. 
Adjective:  That  book  is  mine. 

Indefinite  pronouns  refer  to  objects  or  persons,  but  do  not 
define  or  limit  them.  The  indefinite  pronouns  are  each, 
every,  either,  neither,  one,  none,  other,  another,  few,  all,  many, 
several,  some,  each  other,  one  another,  and  the  compounds 
any  one,  some  one,  every  one,  something,  nothing.  Indefinite 
pronouns  are  frequently  used  as  adjectives.  Each,  every, 
either,  one,  another,  any  one,  some  one,  every  one,  whether  they 
are  used  as  pronouns  or  as  adjectives,  are  singular  in  number. 
If  another  pronoun  is  used  to  refer  to  one  of  them,  it  must 
be  in  the  singular  number. 

Exercise  77  —  Classes  of  Pronouns 

In  the  following  sentences,  explain  which  pronouns  repre- 
sent the  person  speaking,  which  represent  the  person  spoken 
to,  and  which  represent  the  person  spoken  of.  Tell  which 
pronouns  ask  questions;  which  are  used  as  adjectives; 
which  are  used  to  connect  subordinate  clauses  to  the  word 
for  which  they  stand.  If  the  antecedent  is  expressed,  point 
it  out. 

1.  Who  is  talking? 

2.  The  man  who  is  speaking  is  the  head  of  the  credit  depart- 
ment. 

3.  If  you  are  going,  get  ready. 

4.  Which  is  the  better  piece  of  cloth? 

5.  This  is  the  better  piece  of  cloth. 

6.  The  one  who  wishes  to  succeed  must  exercise  great  care 
in  his  work. 

7.  He  that  would  succeed  must  work. 

8.  Many  men  fail  because  of  laziness. 

9.  What  did  you  say? 

10.  Can  you  guess  whom  I  saw? 

11.  He  himself  told  us. 

12.  A  cousin  of  ours  is  coming  to  town. 


62  GRAMMAR 

13.  The  man  whose  life  is  above  criticism  need  fear  no  one. 

14.  Whoever  lives  the  truth  need  fear  no  criticism. 

15.  I  wish  you  would  remove  those  files. 

16.  Ink  that  is  thick  makes  illegible  writing. 

17.  What  paper  should  I  destroy? 

18.  I  cannot  understand  what  any  one  is  saying. 

19.  This  is  not  my  umbrella.     It  is  yours. 

20.  No  friend  of  his  would  talk  in  that  way. 

21.  This  is  no  book  of  theirs;  it  belongs  to  us. 

22.  Whatsoever  he  saith  unto  you,  do  it. 

23.  I  shall  ask  whomever  I  see. 

24.  Each  of  us  has  his  work  assigned. 

25.  Every  boy  has  his  work  assigned. 

Exercise  78 

In  the  following  sentences  he,  his,  they,  their,  them,  it,  or 
its  should  be  inserted.     Give  the  reason  for  your  choice. 

^    I.   No  man  is  allowed  to  leave desk  untidy. 

..^2.   Every  one  must  put  tools  away  before  leaving  the 

shop. 

-^  3.   Every  office  worker  is  required  to  be  in  place  at 

eight-thirty  every  morning. 

.^    4.  In  my  business  a  person  must  learn  to  make  up mind 

quickly. 

_^.   It  was  cold  this  morning.     Every  one  wore  — --  wraps. 

6.  Every  clerk  must  do own  work. 

7.  If  an  employee  has  ideas  for  the  improvement  of  the  busi- 
ness,   is  requested  to  report suggestions  to  the  superin- 
tendent. 

8.  The  superintendent  is  anxious  to  have  every  workman 

feel  that  (has,  have)  a  definite  place  in  the  organization, 

and  that  if  (does  not,  don't)  do  work,  the  business 

will  suffer. 

9.  No  goods  will  be  accepted  unless  (are,  is)  in  good 

condition. 

10.  Every  newspaper  is  anxious  to  increase  classified 

advertising. 

11.  No  one  cares  to  see friends  frown. 

12.  Every  one  must  agree  that (has,  have) faults. 

13.  Not  one  of  the  banks  had deposits  decreased. 


THE  NOUN  AND  THE  PRONOUN     63 

14.  Will  any  one  let  me  take umbrella? 

15.  Every  one  says  that had  a  delightful  evening. 

16.  Who  was  it  said  I  had book? 

17.  Does  each  state  pay  over  a  part  of taxes  to  the  federal 

government? 

18.  Every  one  will  find  in  the  current  publications  a  wealth 

of  information  applicable  to specific  needs,  much  of  which 

will  wish  to  file  for  easy  reference,  no  matter  in  what  depart- 
ment of  the  world's  work interest  centers. 

19.  If  any  one  could  tell  beforehand  when opportunities 

would  arrive, might  be  ready  to  grasp  each  as came. 

20.  If  every  one  here  would  follow  the  directions  that  — — 
(has,  have)  received, would  make  fewer  mistakes  in  shipments. 

21.  Any  one  who  wishes  may  give opinion. 

22.  No  one  need  expect  to  leave  before work  is  finished. 

23.  Every  one  in  the  office  took vacation  early  this  year 

except  me. 

24.  Each  of  the  twenty  banks  sent representative  to  the 

meeting. 

25.  On  applying  for  a  position,  each  man  is  given  a  blank 

that must  fill  out  carefully,  making answers  as  definite 

as  possible. 

Some  of  the  following  are  right,  and  some  are  wrong. 
Correct  those  that  are  wrong,  explaining  why  they  are 
wrong. 

1.  Neither  one  of  them  know  what  they  are  expected  to  do. 

2.  Applicant  after  applicant  handed  in  their  names. 

3.  If  any  one  has  a  complaint  to  make,  he  should  report  it 
in  writing  to  the  superintendent. 

4.  Have  either  of  the  stenographers  finished  their  letters? 

5.  I  wish  everybody  would  do  their  own  work  and  let  me  do 
mine. 

6.  Each  man  did  his  work  faithfully. 

7.  Has  neither  the  carpenter  nor  the  plumber  yet  brought 
his  tools? 

8.  Every  one  of  the  clerks  must  hand  their  report  to  the  head 
bookkeeper  before  five  o'clock. 

9.  One  of  them  must  have  neglected  to  hand  in  his  report. 
10.   Man  after  man  yesterday  promised  me  that  they'd  be  on 

hand  to  work  this  morning,  and  not  one  of  them  showed  themselves. 


64  GRAMMAR 

Exercise  79 

In  the  following  exercise,  tell  which  of  the  italicized  pro- 
nouns introduce  restrictive,  and  which  introduce  non-restric- 
tive clauses: 

1.  This  is  the  best  bargain  thai  we  have  ever  offered. 

2.  This  is  Mr.  Burton,  whose  work  I  recommended  to  you. 

3.  The  city  that  I  enjoyed  most  was  Quebec. 

4.  I  enjoyed  walking  on  the  old  wall  //?a/  still  surrounds  the 
town. 

.    5.   The  club  to  which  I  belong  will  hold  a  meeting  next  week. 

6.  The  club  that  I  belong  to  will  hold  a  meeting  next  Monday. 

7.  All  those  whose  daily  work  showed  an  improvement  were 
given  an  increase  in  salary. 

8.  The  horse  that  ran  away  belonged  to  my  partner. 

9.  The  greatest  man  is  he  who  feels  himself  the  least. 

10.  An  old  story  tells  us  that  when  Caesar,  who  was  a  great 
Roman  emperor,  returned  from  a  conquest  which  has  ever  since 
been  famous,  he  brought  back  to  Rome  a  formula  that  has  revo- 
lutionized the  world.  It  was  a  formula  for  making  soap,  and  was 
considered  one  of  the  greatest  treasures  that  was  captured  during 
the  campaign.  Caesar  immediately  saw  the  value  that  it  would 
have  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and  he  forced  the  soap-makers  to 
reveal  their  secret. 

11.  The  garrison  is  a  handful  of  invalid  soldiers,  whose  princi- 
pal duty  is  to  guard  some  of  the  outer  towers. 

12.  This  is  the  gentleman  whom  we  met  in  Boston. 

13.  Mr.  Carter,  who  was  a  member  of  our  Boston  firm,  will 
take  charge  of  our  city  sales. 

14.  We  honestly  believe  that  our  latest  Style  Book,  which 
came  with  this  letter,  offers  you  more  for  every  dollar  that  you 
spend  than  you  can  get  elsewhere. 

Exercise  80  —  Case 

Case  is  that  modification  of  a  noun  or  a  pronoun  which 
denotes  its  relation  to  other  words  in  the  sentence.  There 
are  three  cases:  the  nominative ,  the  objective^  and  the  posses- 
sive. Although  nouns  are  used  in  all  three  cases,  no  change 
of  form  occurs  except  in  the  possessive  case. 


THE  NOUN  AND  THE  PRONOUN    65 

The  nominative  case  is  used  in  the  following  ways: 

1.  The  principal  use  of  the  nominative  case  is  as  subject 
of  the  sentence;    as, 

Noun:       The  business  is  prosperous. 
Pronoun:  It  has  been  established  for  five  years. 

2.  Sometimes  a  noun  or  pronoun  is  used  to  complete  the 
meaning  of  such  verbs  as  be,  become,  seem,  appear,  taste,  feel. 
Such  a  noun  is  in  the  nominative  case,  and  is  called  a  predi- 
cate nominative,  or  a  subjective  complement;  as. 

Noun:       Mr.  Brown  is  the  manager. 

He  seems  a  gentleman. 
Pronoun:  I  think  it  is  she. 

3.  A  noun  in  apposition  with  another  noun  in  the  nomina- 
tive case  is  also  in  the  nominative  case;  as, 

Mr.  Brown,  the  manager^  is  very  capable. 

The  man  to  whom  you  should  apply  is  Mr.  Brown,  the  manager. 

4.  Sometimes  a  noun  or  a  pronoun  is  used  in  direct  address 
or  in  an  exclamation,  without  having  any  grammatical 
relation  to  the  rest  of  the  sentence.  It  is  then  said  to  be 
nominative  independent;   as, 

Mr.  Brown,  a  gentleman  wishes  to  speak  to  you. 
A  strike!    Why  are  they  declaring  a  strike? 
You  I   I  thought  you  were  in  South  America. 

5.  Sometimes  a  noun  or  pronoun  is  used  with  a  participle 
to  express  an  adverbial  relation.  Such  a  noun  is  in  the 
nominative  case,  and  is  called  nominative  absolute,  because 
it  has  no  grammatical  relation  to  any  other  part  of  the 
sentence;    as, 

Mr.  Brown  having  gone,  we  told  the  gentleman  to  see  Mr. 
Jones. 

He  being  the  guide,  we  asked  no  questions. 

It  is  much  better  to  use  a  clause  to  express  such  an  idea;  as, 

As  Mr.  Brown  had  gone,  we  told  the  gentleman  to  see  Mr. 
Jones. 


66  GRAMMAR 

Write  a  sentence  containing  a  noun  and  one  containing  a 
pronoun  in  each  of  the  following  uses  of  the  nominative  case: 

1.  Subject. 

2.  Predicate  Nominative. 

Write  a  sentence  containing  a  noun  used 

1.  In  direct  address. 

2.  In  exclamation. 

3.  In  apposition  with  another  noun  in  the  nominative  case. 

Exercise  81  —  The  Objective  Case 

A  noun  or  a  pronoun  may  be  used  in  the  objective  case 
in  the  following  ways: 

1.  Direct  object  of  a  transitive  verb;  as, 

I  have  a  good  position. 
Do  you  know  him  ? 

2.  Object  of  a  preposition;   as, 

I  have  just  returned  from  the  library. 
Bring  the  book  to  me, 

3.  Indirect  object  of  such  verbs  as  ask^  give^  teach,  showing 
the  person  for  whom  or  to  whom  the  action  is  done;  as. 

She  brought  her  mother  some  flowers. 
I  gave  her  singing  lessons. 

4.  A  noun  as  second  object  after  verbs  of  making,  choosing, 
calling,  electing;  as, 

They  chose  John  secretary. 

5.  A  noun  in  apposition  with  another  objective;   as. 

Send  your  report  to  the  secretary,  John  Wilson. 

6.  Adverbial  modifier;   as. 

We  are  going  home. 

Write  a  sentence  containing  a  noun  and  one  containing  a 
pronoun  in  each  of  the  following  uses  of  the  objective  case: 


THE  NOUN  AND  THE  PRONOUN    67 

1.  Direct  object  of  a  transitive  verb. 

2.  Indirect  object. 

3.  Object  of  a  preposition. 

Write  a  sentence  containing  a  noun  used  as 

1.  Adverbial  objective. 

2.  Second  object. 

3.  Appositive  of  another  noun  in  the  objective  case. 

Exercise  82  —  The  Possessive  Case 

To  form  the  possessive  case  of  nouns  add  an  apostrophe 
and  5  to  all  singular  nouns,  and  to  all  plural  nouns  that  do 
not  end  in  s;  if  a  plural  noun  ends  in  ^  add  only  an  apos- 
trophe; as,  child^s,  children's,  hoys'. 

Exception.  —  When,  in  long  words,  the  additional  s  m  the 
singular  would  cause  a  disagreeable  sound,  some  writers  use 
only  the  apostrophe;  as. 

We  awaited  the  princess's  decision. 
We  awaited  the  princess'  decision. 

It  is  often  better  in  such  cases  to  use  a  phrase;  as, 

We  awaited  the  decision  of  the  princess. 

Thus,  an  of  phrase  is  often  used  instead  of  the  possessive 
case.  In  speaking  of  an  inanimate  object  it  should  always 
be  used  instead  of  the  apostrophe  and  S]  as,  the  top  of  the 
mountain  and  not  the  mountain's  top. 

When,  as  in  the  name  of  a  firm,  two  or  more  nouns  are 
taken  together  with  the  idea  of  common  possession,  the  sign 
of  the  pQssessive  is  added  to  the  last  noun  only.  If  separate 
possession  is  implied,  the  sign  of  the  possessive  is  added  to 
each  noun;    as. 

Have  you  seen  Wilson  df  King's  new  building? 
This  is  Mary  and  Helenas  room. 
Is  this  Mary^s  or  Helen's  coat? 

A  noun  or  pronoun  is  in  the  possessive  case  before  a  verbal 
noun ;   as, 


68  GRAMMAR 

I  prefer  to  have  JohrCs  studying  done  before  dinner. 
I  prefer  to  have  his  studying  done  before  dinner. 

Write  sentences  expressing  relation  between  the  words 
in  the  following  pairs.  Use  one  of  them  in  the  possessive 
case  or  use  an  oj  phrase,  whichever  seems  better.  Remember 
that  things  which  have  no  life  cannot  really  possess  anything. 


I. 

the  manager,  desk 

6. 

city,  harbor 

2. 

desk,  top  drawer 

7- 

proprietor,  private  office 

3. 

book,  cover 

8. 

typewriter,  keys 

4. 

city,  mayor 

9- 

ledger,  first  page 

5. 

city,  fire  department 

10. 

room,  ventilation 

Exercise  83 
Which  of  the  italicized  words  would  you  use?    Why? 

1.  Have   you    heard    of   Mr.  Bennett,   Mr.   Bennett's   being 
appointed  chairman  of  the  meeting? 

2.  It  will  probably  delay  him,  his  coming  here. 

3.  I  don't  understand  him,  his  refusing  to  accept  the  position. 

4.  We  have  heard  a  great  deal  of  him,  his  making  a  success 
of  photography. 

5.  The  man's  industry  has  resulted  in  him,  his  gaining  fame. 

6.  Will  you  sign  this  permit  for  us,  our  visiting  the  factory? 

7.  What  do  you  say  to  us,  our  making  some  candy? 

8.  I  am  very  sorry  that  me,  my  interrupting  you  yesterday 
delayed  your  work. 

9.  The  machine  is  in  excellent  condition.  There  is  no  reason 
for  it,  its  needing  any  repair. 

10.  Everybody,  everybody* s  being  on  time  is  absolutely  necessary. 

Exercise  84 

Each  of  the  following  sentences  is  incorrect  because  the 
sign  of  the  possessive  case  has  been  omitted.  Insert  the 
apostrophe  or  the  apostrophe  and  5,.  wherever  either  is 
needed. 

1.  There  is  a  new  boys  school  in  our  town. 

2.  James  brother  John  is  our  new  bookkeeper. 

3.  For  entrance  to  this  course  three  years  work  in  mathe- 
matics and  one  years  work  in  German  are  required. 


THE  NOUN  AND  THE  PRONOUN     69 


4.  This  new  building  will  be  occupied  by  J.  M.  Hopkins  mail 
order  department. 

5.  The  superintendents  inspection  was  thorough. 

6.  The  trouble  will  be  in  John  agreeing  to  the  proposition. 

7.  All  applications  for  help  should  be  made  to  the  Womens 
Committees.  .j 

8.  The  employees  rest  rooms  are  on  the  sunny  side  of  the 
building.  , 

9.  Our  fifteen  years  experience  in  selling  bonds  has  convinced 
us  that  investments  paying  a  low  rate  of  interest  are  the  safest. 

10.  In  to-days  mail  I  received  a  very  large  order  from  Graham 
&  Moore's  successors.^ 

11.  Jones  Brothers  new  store  is  on  the  corner  of  Madison 
Street. 

12.  Last  month  sales  show  an  increase  of  two  thousand  dollars. 

13.  Everybody s  business  is  nobody s  business. 

14.  It  is  when  to-morrows  burden  is  added  to  the  burden  of 
to-day  that  the  weight  is  more  than  a  man  can  bear. 

15.  The  present  governor  was  the  peoples  choice. 

16.  I  prefer  Tennysons  poems  to  Longfellows. 

17.  I  have  read  both  Longfellow  and  Tennysons  poems. 

18.  I  bought  the  book  at  Barlow  and  Companys  new  store. 

19.  We  are  going  to  insist  on  Mary  taking  a  long  vacation 
this  year. 

20.  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  staying  at  both  your  friends 
houses. 

Exercise  85  —  The  Apostrophe 

Some  of  the  following  sentences  are  right,  and  some  are 
wrong.  Correct  those  that  are  wrong,  explaining  why 
they  are  wrong. 

1.  The  man  who's  coming  this  way  is  Mr.  Burton. 

2.  Whose  coat  is  that? 

3.  The  man  who's  place  you  are  taking  has  been  with  this 
firm  for  twenty  years. 

4.  The  next  one  whose  to  give  a  report  is  the  treasurer. 

5.  The  next  one  whose  report  we  must  hear  is  the  treasurer. 

6.  Don't  you  think  it's  too  early  to  start? 

7.  He  is  a  ladies  tailor. 

8.  Remember  your  to  let  us  know  at  once  who's  elected. 

9.  Its  too  late  "how  to  change  its  wording. 


70  GRAMMAR 

10.  Mr.  Jones'  house  is  being  repaired. 

11.  The  Joneses'  house  is  being  repaired. 

12.  There  coming  as  fast  as  their  horse  will  bring  them. 

13.  I  think  you're  t)^ewriter  needs  cleaning. 

14.  Your  coming  too,  are'nt  you? 

15.  Every  business  has  it's  problems. 

16.  The  Bon  Ton  has  a  big  sale  in  mens'  and  womens'  coat's. 

17.  Why,  it's  March!     No  wonder  their  having  a  sale. 

18.  We  shall  give  you  a  special  discount  if  you  will  send  your 
dealer's  name. 

19.  Most  of  the  dealer's  advertise  very  little. 

20.  It's  just  a  year  ago  since  we  received  your  last  order. 

21.  Its  not  willingness  we  lack;  it's  time. 

22.  If  you  use  our  safety  device,  you  may  leave  you're  window 
open  with  security,  and  you  will  arise  refreshed,  ready  for  a  big 
days  work. 

23.  Lets  take  our  vacation  when  they  take  their's. 

24.  I  think  we  shall  have  to  take  our's  in  August.  Two  of  us 
must  stay  during  July,  for  the  work  will  not  do  it's  self,  you  know. 

25.  In  any  explanation  it  should  be  the  writers  purpose  to  so 
describe  his  good's  that  the  reader  will  desire  them.  A  good 
salesman  never  shows  a  necktie  in  a  box.  He  takes  it  out  and 
with  a  deft  twist  forms  it's  length  into  a  four-in-hand  over  his 
finger.  The  customer  then  sees  not  only  the  scarf,  it's  color  and 
its  weave,  but  he  sees  it  in  it's  relation  to  himself,  as  it  will  look 
when  it's  tied. 

Exercise  86 

Supply  who  or  whom: 

1.  did  you  take  me  for? 

2.  The  shipping  clerk,  I  consider  responsible  for  the 

mistake,  must  go. 

3.  The  shipping  clerk,  I  feel  certain  is  responsible  for 

the  mistake,  must  go. 

4.  is  it? 

5.  shall  I  say  called?  ,a 

6.  do  you  wish  to  see? 

7.  did  you  say  was  elected? 

8.  He  is  the  one every  one  thought  should  be  elected. 

9.  Choose  the  one you  think  wiU  give  the  best  service. 

10.   Choose  the  one you  think  you  can  trust. 


r 


THE  NOUN  AND  THE  PRONOUN    71 


11.  She  asked  me did  it. 

12.   do  you  think  is  the  best  salesman  in  the  firm? 

13.  do  you  regard  as  the  best  salesman  in  the  firm? 

14.  was  that you  were  talking  to? 

15.  He  is  the  one I  was  speaking  about. 

16.  do  we  play  next  week? 

17.  He  is  a  workman can  be  trusted. 

18.  He  is  a  workman  upon you  can  depend. 

19.  This  letter  comes  from  Robert, we  all  know  very  well. 

20.  This  letter  comes  from  Robert,  we  all  know  writes 

good  letters. 

21.   do  you  consider  to  be  most  capable?     [The  subject 

of  the  infinitive  to  he  must  be  in  the  objective  case.] 

22.  This  booklet  was  written  by  the  man  Mr.  Bardon 

considers  [to  be]  the  best  correspondent  in  our  office. 

22,.  He  is  the  one every  one  believes  to  be  worthy  of  the 

highest  honors. 

24.   The  critic every  one  thought  gave  the  most  truthful 

account  of  the  performance  is  a  man  of  great  culture. 

Supply  whoever  or  whomever: 

1.  Give  the  book  to needs  it. 

2.  Give  it  to you  think  best. 

3.   I  send  can  be  trusted. 

4.  Send  me is  there. 

5.  Send  me you  find  there. 

6. reaches  the  line  first  will  receive  the  cup. 

7.  The  cup  will  be  given  to reaches  the  lines  first. 

8.  In  the  country  lane  he  spoke  to he  met. 

9.  you  choose  may  compete  for  the  prize. 

10.   you  bring  is  welcome. 

Exercise  87 

.  Read  the  following  sentences,  using  one  of  the  forms  in 
italic.     Be  able  to  give  a  reason  for  your  choice. 

1.  He  —  him  and  /  —  me  are  going  camping  next  summer. 

2.  It  is  a  question  that  refers  to  you  and  /  —  me. 

3.  It  is  a  question  between  you  and  /  —  me, 

4.  I  am  sure  that  it  was  she  —  her. 

5.  I  am  sure  that  we  saw  you  and  he  —  him. 


72  GRAMMAR 

6.  We  —  us  boys  are  going  camping. 

7.  Will  you  go  camping  with  we  —  us  boys? 

8.  They  —  them  and  their  cousins  are  going  camping. 

9.  We  bought  a  large  piece  of  ground  so  that  my  brother 
and  /  —  me  could  have  a  garden. 

10.  It  was  bought  for  he  —  him  and  /  —  me. 

11.  Is  that  he  —  him  entering  the  gate?  Yes,  that  is  he  — 
him. 

12.  Who  —  whom  should  I  meet  at  the  station  but  old  Mr. 
McGregor,  who  —  whom  I  had  not  seen  for  several  years. 

13.  If  I  were  he  —  him,  I  should  start  at  once. 

14.  There  is  no  need  of  him  —  his  staying  any  longer. 

15.  He  does  not  work  so  rapidly  as  /  —  me. 

16.  Mary  and  she  —  her  work  in  the  same  office. 

17.  There  is  no  danger  of  me  —  my  failing. 

18.  Please  let  she  —  her  and  /  —  me  do  the  work  together. 

19.  There  is  no  use  of  us  —  our  trying  any  more. 

20.  Us  —  our  giving  up  now  will  spoil  everything. 

21.  My  mother  objected  to  me  —  my  going. 

22.  Why  did  you  insist  upon  us  —  our  coming  to-day? 

23.  I  hardly  think  it  is  he  —  him  who  —  whom  is  to  blame. 

24.  I  should  like  to  be  she  —  her. 

25.  They  —  them  that  do  wrong  shall  be  punished. 

26.  They  —  them  that  do  wrong  I  shall  punish. 

27.  He  —  him  that  is  your  friend  you  can  call  upon  in  your 
hour  of  need. 

2S.  He  —  him  that  is  your  friend  will  respond  to  your  call. 

29.  The  manager  praised  both  the  bookkeepers  and  we  —  us 
girls. 

30.  Was  it  you  who  called?    Yes,  it  was  /  —  me. 

31.  It  surely  was  not  /  —  me  whom  you  saw. 

32.  He  reproved  us  both  but  /  —  me  more  than  she  —  her, 
SS.  Are  you  sure  it^s  /  —  we  whom  he  appointed? 

34.  If  it's  really  /  —  me  who  was  appointed,  I'm  sure  I  should 
have  been  notified. 

35.  I'm  sure  it  can't  be  /  —  me. 

Exercise  88  —  Same  as  a  Pronoun 

One  of  the  worst  constructions  found  in  business  letters 
of  today  is  the  use  of  same  as  a  pronoun.  The  word  may 
be  an  adjective  or  a  noun  but  never  a  pronoun. 


THE  NOUN  AND  THE  PRONOUN     73 

Wrong:  Will  you  please  fill  out  the  enclosed  blank  and  return 
same  as  soon  as  possible? 

Right:  Will  you  please  fill  out  the  enclosed  blank  and  return 
U  as  soon  as  possible? 

In  each  of  the  following  sentences  substitute  a  noun  or 
a  pronoun  for  same: 

'    I.  Will  you  not  send  us  a  check  by  Friday  so  that  we  may 
use  same  for  our  pay  roll  on  Saturday? 

2.  Do  you  wish  to  bid  for  our  cinder  output  this  year?  We 
have  a  sample  car  that  we  shall  be  glad  to  have  you  inspect  if  you 
think  you  will  have  any  use  for  same. 

3.  We  have  no  use  for  the  material  this  year,  but  we  thank 
you  for  giving  us  an  opportunity  to  bid  for  same. 

4.  If  you  are  dissatisfied  with  the  machine,  return  same  at 
our  expense. 

5.  You  state  that  you  sent  us  an  order  on  June  10,  but  we 
cannot  find  any  trace  of  same. 

6.  We  are  in  the  market  for  two  dozen  Standard  clothes 
wringers,  and  we  should  be  glad  to  receive  your  lowest  price  on 
same. 

7.  We  have  given  you  credit  for  this  amount  and  desire  to 
thank  you  for  your  promptness  in  sending  same. 

8.  We  have  your  letter  of  November  6  and  thank  you  for  same. 

9.  If  you  think  you  can  use  this  type  of  machine,  we  shall 
be  glad  to  send  you  same  on  ten  days'  trial. 

10.  We  have  decided  to  use  your  machine  if  you  will  give  us  a 
satisfactory  guarantee  as  to  strength,  efficiency,  and  freedom  from 
leaks.    As  soon  as  possible  let  us  hear  from  you  in  regard  to  same. 

Exercise  89  —  Nouns  and  Pronouns  Incorrectly  Used 

Wrong  Right 

1.  We  saw  lots  of  curious  things.  We  saw  a  number  of  curious  things. 

2.  Do  you  know  that  party?  Do  you  know  that  man? 

3.  I  stayed  at  home  the  balance  of  I  stayed  at  home  the  rest  of  the 

the  day.  day. 

4.  What  business  have  you  to  go?    What  right  have  you  to  go? 

5.  The  dress  will  be  done  in  a    The  dress  will    be  done  in  a  few 

couple  of  days.  days. 

6.  I'll  walk  a  piece  with  you.  I'll  walk  a  short  distance  with  you. 

7.  Did  you  get  a  raise  in  pay?  Did  you  get  an  increase  in  pay? 


7 


74  GRAMMAR 

Wrong  Right 

8.  I'll  send  you  a  postal.  I'll  send  you  a  postal  card, 

g.  Christmas  is  still  a  long  ways  Christmas  is  still  a  long  way  off. 
off. 

10.  What  line  of  business  are  you  What  kind  of  business  are  you  in 

in  now?  now? 

11.  If  you  expect  to  open  a  grocery,  If  you  expect  to  open  a  grocery,  let 

let  me  give  you  a  little  ad-  me  give  you  a  little  advice  07t 

vice  along  that  line.  the  subject. 

12.  Have  you  anything  new  in  the  Have  you  any  new  neckwear? 

neckwear  line  ? 

13.  I  have  a  date  with  the  dentist.  I   have   an  appointment  with   the 

dentist. 

14.  Have  you  a  date  for  this  even-  Have  you  an  engagement  for  this 

ing?  evening? 

15.  He  always  does  his  work  in  He  always  does  his  work  well. 

good  shape. 

16.  That  is  a  good  write-up  on  the  That  is  a  good  article  on  the  tariff. 

tariff. 

17.  Yourself  and   friends  are   in-  You  and  your  friends  are  invited. 

vited. 

18.  Don't  they  have  street  cars  in  Are  there  no  street  cars  in  your 

your  town?  town? 

19.  It  said  in  this  morning's  paper  This  morning's  paper  said  that  the 

that  the  traffic  men  would  traffic  men  would  strike, 
strike. 

20.  The  book  what  he  advised  is  The  book  that  he  advised  is  not 

not  fiction.  fiction. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  ADJECTIVE  AND  THE  ADVERB 

As  a  rule,  adverbs  present  more  difficulty  than  do  adjec- 
tives. Careless  pupils  frequently  use  an  adjective  when  an 
adverb  is  necessary;   as, 

Wrong:   He  solved  the  problem  very  quick. 
Right:     He  solved  the  problem  very  quickly. 

Wrong:   This  is  real  good  candy. 

Right:     This  is  really  (or  very)  good  candy. 

Until  the  habit  of  correct  usage  is  formed,  every  sentence 
must  be  watched.  When  a  word  modifies  a  verb,  an  adjec- 
tive, or  an  adverb,  another  adverb  must  be  used,  and  an 
adjective  may  not  correctly  be  substituted.  As  a  rule, 
adverbs  express  the  following  ideas: 

Time:  We  arrived  early. 

Place:  We  have  been  here  since  January. 

Manner:   He  walked  steadily  onward. 

Cause:   Why  did  you  refuse  the  offer? 

Degree:   I  am  very  much  surprised. 

Number:   I  did  it  once  not  Pwice. 

Assertion:  )  t  j 

Denial:      j"  I  do  «"' agree. 

Adverb  modifying  a  verb:   See  how  slowly  the  man  walks! 
Adverb  modifying  an  adjective:   The  weather  has  been  extremely 
warm.  ' 

Adverb  modifying  an  adverb:  He  dictates  very  rapidly. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  verbs  of  the 
senses  —  taste,  feel,  look,  smell,  sound,  and  the  like  —  are 
sometimes  almost  equal  in  meaning  to  the  verb  be.      In 


76  GRAMMAR 

that  case,  they  are   followed   by  adjectives   and   not  by 
adverbs;  as, 

Adjective:  He  looked  angry. 

Adverb:      He  looked  angrily  at  us. 

Exercise  90 

Name  the  adjectives  in  the  following  selection,  explaining 
with  what  noun  each  belongs. 

Name  the  adverbs,  explaining  what  part  of  speech  each 
modifies. 

Since  1904  the  number  of  live  cattle  exported  from  this  country 
has  been  steadily  growing  smaller.  Exports  of  dressed  beef 
have  also  shrunk  to  such  insignificant  proportions  that  the  United 
States  is  no  longer  an  important  factor  in  the  foreign  markets 
for  beef.  Often  has  it  been  said  that  the  competition  of  cheap 
Argentine  beef  has  deprived  us  of  foreign  markets.  It  woulcj, 
be  more  nearly  true  to  say  that  foreigners  buy  the  inferior  article 
only  because  we  cannot  supply  them  with  all  they  want  of  the  best 
grade.  Take,  for  instance,  the  Englishman's  willingness  to  pay 
considerably  more  for  American  corn-fed  beef  than  for  Argentine. 

The  raising  of  cattle  is  important,  also,  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  leather  business.  Obviously,  with  a  21  per  cent  increase 
in  population  in  each  decade,  many  more  shoes  are  necessary. 
Automobile  and  other  industries  are  making  constantly  increas- 
ing demands  for  leather.  Shoes  cannot  become  cheaper  in  the 
face  of  increased  demand  and  diminished  supply.  Too  much 
depends  upon  the  cattle  industry  for  us  to  allow  it  to  wane. 

Exercise  91 
Which  of  the  italicized, words  should  you  use  in  the  follow- 
ing, and  why?         JltJ^^ 

-^  \.  Why  do  you  walk  so  slow  —  slondy  f 

2.  Speak  louder  —  more  loudly. 

3.  I  cannot  explain  why  he  spoke  so  gentle  —  gently. 

4.  The  automobile  was  going  very  snmjt  —  swiftly. 

5.  The  well  has  been  dug  very  deep  —  deeply. 

6.  He  is  not  near  —  nearly  so  tall  as  you  are. 

7.  Are  you  cutting  that  even  —  evenly  ? 


THE    ADJECTIVE    AND    THE    ADVERB       77 

She  does  pen  and  ink  sketches  beautiful  —  beautifully. 
Why  can't  I  grow  quicker  —  more  quickly  ? 
I  feel  bad  —  badly  this  morning. 
Can  you  do  all  I  have  asked?    Easy  —  easily. 
She  does  her  work  good  —  well. 
She  does  her  work  fine  — r  finely. 
I  am  real  —  very  much  surprised  to  see  you. 
He  became  real  —  very  angry. 
I'm  afraid  it's  not  near  —  nearly  big  enough. 
She  works  twice  as  quick  —  quickly  as  you  do. 
He  sure  —  surely  is  a  good  speaker.    He  seems  sure  —  surely 
of  himself. 
«*«^.I9.   Are  you  going?    Sure  —  Surely? 

20.  He  says  he  is  near  —  nearly  starved. 

21.  He  worked  steady  —  steadily  all  morning.  The  others  did 
not  work  near  —  nearly  so  hard. 

22.  I  am  speaking  as  serious  —  seriously  as  I  can. 
1^^-23.   The  orange  tastes  bitter  —  bitterly. 

24.   Don't  you  think  he  has  been  acting  queer  —  queerly? 
"-25.  The  coat  is  finished  mce  —  nicely,  *jfe><^-i/ 

>  —- — ^^Exercise92  '  I 

Explain  the  proper  position  of  the  italicized  adverbs  in 
the  following  sentences.  Remember  that  an  adverb  must 
stand  as  closely  as  possible  to  the  word  that  it  modifies,  but 
remember  also  that  an  infinitive,  although  made  up  of  two 
parts,  is  one  word  and  should  not  be  split  by  an  adverb. 

1.  I  merely  want  the  Milwaukee  list  of  customers. 

2.  You  almost  write  like  her. 

3.  Your  writing  is  like  hers  almost. 

4.  I  can  not  find  one  of  the  papers  I  had  on  the  desk. 

5.  He  told  me  to  carefully  Sidd  the  figures  in  the  column. 

6.  I  expect  to  quickly  finish  my  dictation. 

7.  I  don't  e^ew  understand,  the  first  problem  in  the  lesson. 

8.  Don't  say  you  don't  ever  expect  to  go  to  school  again. 

9.  All  the  statements  are  not  on  niy  desk. 

10.  He  promised  to  quickly  settle  the  matter. 

11.  I  wish  you  to  clearly  understand  the  situation. 

12.  I  only  have  two  more  items  to  enter. 

13.  I  only  expect  to  take  a  short  vacation  this  year. 


78  GRAMMAR 

14.   He  only  spoke  of  two  causes  of  the  loss  in  trade. 
i5.«  I  only  decided  to  take  the  Western  instead  of  the  Eastern 
trip  at  the  last  moment. 

Exercise  93  —  Comparison 

Most  adjectives  are  compared  to  express  different  degrees 
of  quality.  There  are  three  degress  of  comparison,  the 
positive,  the  comparative,  and  the  superlative.  When  the 
object  modified  by  the  adjective  is  not  compared  with 
another,  the  first  or  positive  degree  is  used.  When  two 
objects  are  compared,  the  second  or  comparative  degree  is 
used  to  denote  more  or  less  of  the  quality  expressed  by  the 
adjective.  Wlien  several  objects  are  compared,  the  super- 
lative degree  of  the  adjective  is  used  to  express  the  highest 
or  the  lowest  possible  degree  of  the  adjective. 

The  usual  method  of  comparing  an  adjective  is  to  add 
er  to  the  positive  to  form  the  comparative,  and  est  to  form 
the  superlative.  Frequently,  however,  especially  for  an 
adjective  of  two  or  more  syllables,  the  comparative  is  formed 
by  prefixing  more  or  less  to  the  positive,  and  the  superla- 
tive by  prefixing  most  or  least.  Besides  the  adjectives  in 
these  two  classes  there  are  some  which  do  not  follow  any 
regular  method  and  must,  therefore,  be  watched  a  little 
more  closely. 

The  following  table  illustrates  the  different  methods  of 
comparison : 


Positive 

Comparative 

Superlative 

bright 

brighter 

brightest 

dangerous 

more  dangerous 

most  dangerous 

beautiful 

more  beautiful 

most  beautiful 

good 

better 

best 

bad 

worse 

worst 

ill 

worse 

worst 

Be  careful  to  avoid  using  a  double  sign  for  the  compara- 
tive degree;  as. 

Wrong:   This  writing  is  more  neater  than  yours. 


THE    ADJECTIVE    AND    THE    ADVERB       79 

Some  adverbs  are  also  compared;  as, 

Positive  Comparative  Superlative 

well  better  best 

quickly  more  quickly  most  quickly 

Some  adjectives  and  adverbs  cannot  be  compared  because 
the  positive  degree  in  itself  expresses  a  complete  or  absolute 
meaning;   as, 


absolute,-ly 

eternal 

perfect 

sufficient 

circular 

extreme 

perpendicular 

supreme 

continual 

faultless 

perpetual 

unanimous 

dead 

full 

right 

unique 

decisive 

impossible 

round 

universal 

empty 

incurable 

square 

white 

Compare  those  of  the  following  adjectives  that  may  be 
compared.     Explain  why  some  do  not  admit  of  comparison. 

great  spotless  expensive  wise 

tall  dear  parallel  high 

desirable  east  old  new 

honorable  early  exclusive  blank 


Exercise  94 

In  the  following  exercise,  select  the  correct  one  of  the  two 
italicized  forms.  Remember  that  the  comparative  degree  is 
used  in  comparing  two  objects,  the  superlative  in  compar- 
ing three  or  more. 

1.  I  had  three  pens.     I  have  lost  the  better  —  best  one.    / 

2.  I  have  two  clerks.  \  John  is  the  older  —  oldeft. 

3.  Of  the  two  colors,  I  think  the  tan  is  the  more  —  most 
becoming  to  you. 

4.  You  are  the  taller  —  tallest  of  all  the  boys. 

5.  Of  two  professions,  choose  the  more  —  most  honorable. 

6.  He  is  the  faster  — fastest  workman  in  the  shop. 

7.  Which  of  your  hands  is  the  cleaner  —  cleanest  ? 

8.  Which  do  you  like  better  —  best^  skating  or  sleighing? 

9.  Which  of  your  eyes  has  the  better  —  best  vision? 
10.   Of  all  the  shops,  she  likes  LesHe's  better  —  best. 


8o  GRAMMAR 

11.  Which  is  more  —  most  durable,  serge  or  broadcloth? 

12.  Which  tree  lives  longer  —  longest,  the  poplar  or  the  elm? 

13.  Which  is  the  best  —  better  policy,  honesty  or  dishonesty? 

14.  He  is  the  wittier  —  wittiest  one  in  the  class. 

15.  He  is  the  wittier  —  wittiest  boy  in  the  class.     There  is  only 
one  boy  in  the  class  besides  him. 

16.  Of  our   twenty   salesmen,   he  is   considered   better  —  best 
because  he  is  quicker  —  quickest  witted  than  any  other. 

17.  You  should  not  mention  the  two  men  in  one  breath.     The 
former  — first  is  famous  and  the  latter  —  last  infamous. 

18.  Which  of  you  two  do  you  think  deserves  more  —  most 
praise? 

19.  Which  of  you  two  deserves  less  —  least  praise? 

20.  Which  of  you  two  can  run  the  faster  — fastest? 

Exercise  95 

Remember  that  the  double  negative  is  wrong;  as, 

Wrong:  I  haven't  no  paper. 
Right:  I  have  no  paper. 

Correct  any  of   the  following   sentences   that  contain  this 
mistake: 

1.  None  of  them  didn't  come. 

2.  I  cou\dp!t  do  the  problem  neither. 

3.  This  paper  isn't  very  good,  I  don't  think. 

4.  Couldn't  you  find  no  better  pen? 

5.  I  didn't  choose  none  of  them. 

6.  I  don't  see  nothing  to  complain  of. 

7.  He  couldn't  hardly  see  across  the  street. 

8.  We  didn't  find  the  paper  nowhere. 

9.  They  can't  scarcely  believe  the  report. 

10.   She  couldn't  stay  with  us  only  a  few  minutes. 

Exercise  96  —  Fewer,  Less 

Fewer  refers  to  a  smaller  number  by  counting,  less  refers 
to  a  smaller  quantity  by  measuring.     Insert  the  correct  word: 

1.  You  are  making mistakes  each  day. 

2.  I  am  having difficulty  in  writing  shorthand. 

3.  There  are houses  on  this  street  than  I  had  thought. 


THE  ADJECTIVE  AND  THE  ADVERB   8i 

4.  The  farther  inland  we  went  the signs  of  habitation  we 

saw. 

5.  Each  year  there  is opportunity  for  an  uneducated  man 

to  rise. 

6.  Each  year  there  are opportunities  for  the  uneducated 

man  to  rise. 

Most,  Almost 

Most  refers  to  quantity  or  number;  almost   means   not 
quite.  Insert  the  correct  word: 

7.  -^^  people  enjoy  their  work. 

8.  I  have finished  the  course  in  stenography. 

9.  European  cities  are  beautiful. 

10.  all  European  cities  are  beautiful. 

Real,  Very 

Real  is  an  adjective  meaning  actual;  very  is  an  adverb 
of  degree.     Insert  the  correct  word: 

11.  I'm glad  to  see  you. 

12.  Is  your  comb amber? 

13.  The  men  of  the  Titanic  were heroes. 

14.  He  is  a good  soloist. 

15.  She  is entertaining  in  conversation;  it  was  a  

pleasure  to  meet  her. 

Exercise  97  —  Adjectives  and  Adverbs  Incorrectly  Used 

Wrong  Right 

1.  I  don't  like  those  kind  of  pens.     I  don't  like  that  kind  of  pens. 

2.  What  sort  of  a  course  are  you    What  sort  of  course  are  you  taking? 

taking? 

3.  His  statements  made  me  mad.     His  statements  made  me  angry. 

4.  Yours  respectively.  Yours  respectfully. 

(Consult  a  dictionary  for  the  correct  use  of  respectively) 

5.  Do  you  want  in  ?  Do  you  want  to  come  in  ? 

6.  Go  some  place  with  me.  Go  somewhere  with  me. 

7.  My  father  is  some  better.  My  father  is  somewhat  better. 

8.  He  comes  every  once  in  a  while.     He  comes  occasionally. 

9.  Did  you  recognize  the  girl  who     Did   you   recognize   the   girl   who 

drove  past  ?  drove  hy  ? 

10.  The  two  are  both  alike.  The  two  are  alike. 


82 


GRAMMAR 


any 


Wrong 

11.  He    is    liable    to    come 

minute. 

12.  That  ring  has  sl  funny  design. 

13.  I'd  sooner  stay  at  home. 

14.  Are  you  most  ready? 

15.  I'm  kind  of  sleepy. 

16.  What  size  hat  do  you  wear? 

17.  This  here  book  is  the  one  I  wish. 

18.  He  spoke  angry  like. 

19.  His  ideas  are  no  good. 

20.  He  seldom  ever  makes  a  mis- 

take. 
.21.  I  didn't  work  any  last  night. 

22.  I  walked  this  far  yesterday. 

23.  I  want  to  see  you  hadly. 

24.  He  sells  insurance  on  the  side. 

25.  Don't  talk  out  loud. 

26.  She  is  very  disappointed. 


Right 
He  is  likely  to  come  at  any  minute. 

That  ring  has  an  odd  design. 

I'd  rather  stay  at  home. 

Are  you  almost  ready? 

I'm  rather  sleepy. 

What  sized  hat  do  you  wear? 

This  book  is  the  one  I  wish. 

He  spoke  angrily. 

His  ideas  are  worthless  (or  not  good). 

He  seldom  {hardly  ever)  makes  a 

mistake. 
I  didn't  work  at  all  last  night. 
I  walked  as  far  as  this  yesterday. 
I  want  to  see  you  very  much. 
In  addition  to  his  other  business  he 

sells  insurance. 
Don't  talk  aloud. 
She  is  very  miich  disappointed. 
(Before  a  perfect  participle  too  or  very  may  not  be  used  without  the 
addition  of  the  adverb  much) 

27.  She  is  a  cute  (or  cunning)  child.     She  is  a  pretty  child. 

(Look  up  the  words  cute  and  cunning  in  a  dictionary) 

28.  He  was  lying  face  down  on  the    He  was  lying  face  downward  on  the 

grass.  grass. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  VERB 

Verbs  may  be  transitive  or  intransitive, 

A  verb  is  transitive  when  it  needs  an  object  to  complete 
its  meaning;  that  is,  when  the  action  passes  over  (Latin, 
transire,  to  pass  over)  from  the  subject  or  doer  to  the  object 
or  receiver;  as. 

He  hit  the  ball. 

A  verb  is  intransitive  when  it  needs  no  object  to  complete 
its  meaning;  as. 

The  crowd  cheered. 

Some  intransitive  verbs  require  a  predicate  noun  or  pro- 
noun in  the  nominative  case,  or  an  adjective,  to  complete 
their  meaning.  They  are  the  verbs  be^  become,  appear, 
seem,  feel,  taste,  look,  smell;   as. 

Adjective:  The  berries  taste  sour. 
Noun:  John  is  my  brother. 
Pronoun:  It  is  /. 

Such  verbs  are  sometimes  called  copulatives. 

Exercise  98 

Tell  whether  each  verb  in  the  following  sentences  is  tran- 
sitive or  intransitive  and  whether  it  is  followed  by  a  noun 
or  a  pronoun  in  the  nominative  or  the  objective  case  or  by  a 
complementary  adjective. 

I.  Primitive  people  have  left  traces  of  very  early  commercial 
relations. 


84  GRAMMAR 

2.  Explorers  visited  the  Ohio  valley  and  found  articles  of 
remote  manufacture. ' 

3.  Checks  and  drafts  are  great  conveniences  to  the  business 
man. 

4.  The  United  States  Supreme  Court  made  a  decision  that 
labor  unions  are  punishable  under  trust  penalties. 

5.  A  labor  union  is  different  from  a  trust. 

6.  This  is  the  opinion  of  the  labor  leader. 

7.  What  is  your  opinion? 

8.  The  total  value  of  merchandise  sent  to  Latin-America  from 
the  United  States  exceeds  that  supplied  by  any  other  single 
country. 

Write  three  sentences  illustrating  transitive  verbs. 
Write  three  sentences  illustrating  intransitive  verbs. 
Write  three  sentences  illustrating  copulative  verbs. 

Exercise  99  —  Voice 

Voice  is  that  property  of  the  verb  that  shows  whether  the 
subject  acts  or  is  acted  upon.  If  the  subject  acts,  the  verb 
is  in  the  active  voice.  If  the  subject  is  acted  upon,  the  verb 
is  in  the  passive  voice.  Every  sentence  containing  a  transi- 
tive verb  must  have  the  following  parts: 

Agent  (doer)  Action  Receiver 

The  runaway  horse  injured  John. 

When  the  sentence  is  in  the  order  shown  above,  the  sub- 
ject is  the  agent,  and  the  verb  expresses  the  action  of  the 
agent.  When  the  sentence  is  written  in  this  order,  the 
verb  is  said  to  be  in  the  active  voice. 

However,  without  changing  the  meaning  of  the  sentence, 
we  may  change  the  order  of  the  ideas;  thus. 

Receiver  Action  Agent 

John  was  injured  by  the  runaway  horse. 

The  receiver  of  the  action  has  become  the  subject,  and  the 
agent  has  become  part  of  the  predicate,  being  expressed  in 
the  phrase  by  the  runaway  hor^^,    When  the  sentence  is 


THE    VERB  85 

expressed  in  this  order,  the  subject  receiving  or  "suffering" 
the  action,  the  verb  is  said  to  be  in  the  passive  voice.  Only 
transitive  verbs,  therefore,  may  be  changed  to  the  passive 
voice. 

Note.  —  There  are  certain  intransitive  verbs  that  sometimes  have 
a  preposition  so  closely  connected  with  them  that  the  two  are  treated 
almost  like  a  transitive  verb,  and  may  be  made  passive;  as, 

Active:   The  audience  laughed  at  the  speaker. 
Passive:   The  speaker  was  laughed  at  by  the  audience. 

Write  five  sentences  in  the  active  voice. 

Change  them  to  the  passive  voice. 

Of  the  sentences  that  you  have  written,  is  the  active  or 
the  passive  form  better?  Which  is  more  direct  in  its 
wording?     Which,  then,  is  the  better  form  to  use  regularly? 


Exercise  100  —  Number  and  Person 

The  number  of  the  verb  is  decided  by  the  number  of  the 
subject.  If  the  subject  is  a  singular  noun,  or  a  pronoun  that 
stands  for  a  singular  noun,  it  requires  a  singular  verb;  if 
the  subject  is  plural,  it  requires  a  plural  verb.  As  a  rule, 
there  is  no  difference  between  the  singular  and  the  plural 
forms  of  the  verb  except  in  the  form  for  the  third  person 
singular;    as, 

I  say  We  say 

You  say  You  say 

He  says  ,  They  say 

But  as  the  third  person  of  the  verb  is  the  one  most  often 
used,  it  must  be  carefully  noted. 

The  following  subjects  of  verbs  are  singular  and  require 
a  singular  verb  to  accompany  them: 

I.  A  collective  noun  that  denotes  a  group  of  objects 

acting  as  one  thing;   as. 

The  crowd  is  scattering. 


86  GRAMMAR 

2.  A  group  of  words  which,  Hke  a  collective  noun,  is 
plural  in  form  but  singular  in  meaning;   as, 

Thirty  dollars  is  what  I  paid  for  the  ring. 

3.  A  singular  noun  modified  by  every,  each,  one,  no, 
many  a;  or  the  pronouns  each,  everybody,  either,  neither, 
and  none  when  it  means  not  one;  as. 

Each  of  us  has  his  lesson. 

Many  an  opportunity  has  been  wasted. 

Everybody  is  here  now. 

4.  Nouns  or  pronouns  joined  by  or,  either  —  or,  neither 
—  nor;  as, 

Either  John  or  his  father  is  coming. 

5.  Two  nouns  joined  by  and,  denoting  one  person  or 
thing;   as. 

The  bookkeeper  and  stenographer  is  an  expert. 

Note.  —  If  two  persons  are  meant,  the  article  should  be  repeated 
before  the  second  noun. 

The  following  subjects  of  verbs  are  plural  and  require 
plural  verbs: 

1.  A  collective  noun  denoting  plurality;  that  is, 
referring  to  the  individuals  that  compose  the  group;  as, 

The  class  are  all  studious. 

2.  A  compound  subject  joined  by  and,  when  the 
objects  joined  are  different;  as, 

The  door  and  the  window  are  both  open. 

3.  The  pronoun  you,  though  it  may  denote  only  one 
person;  as, 

Right:  You  were  right. 
Wrong:  You  was  right. 


THE    VERB 


91 


Active  Voice 


Tense 


Primary 


Present 


Past 


Future 


Perfect 

or 
Secondary 


Present  Perfect 


Past  Perfect 


Future  Perfect 


I  write  (simple  form) 

I   am   writing    (progressive 

form) 
I  do  write  (emphatic  form) 

I  wrote  (simple) 
I  was  writing  (progressive) 
,  I  did  write  (emphatic) 

f  I  shall  write  (simple) 

I  I    shall    be    writing    (pro- 

[     gressive) 

I  have  written  (simple) 
I  have   been  writing  (pro- 
[     gressive) 

[  I  had  written  (simple) 

"!  I   had    been   writing    (pro- 

[     gressive) 

I  shall  have  written  (simple) 
I  shall   have    been  writing 
(progressive) 


Exercise  103 

Conjugate  the  following  in  the  active  voice: 

1.  Simple  past  tense  of  walk. 

2.  Present  progressive  tense  of  walk. 

3.  Present  perfect  of  drive.     (See  Exercise  108  for  the  prin- 
cipal parts.) 

4.  Present  perfect  progressive  of  drive, 

5.  Future  progressive  of  ride. 

6.  Past  of  ride. 

7.  Present  progressive  of  ride, 

8.  Past  emphatic  of  ride. 

9.  Past  perfect  of  ride. 

10.  Present  perfect  progressive  of  ride. 


92  GRAMMAR 

Give  a  synopsis  of  the  progressive  tenses  of  begin,  using 
he  as  the  subject. 

Exercise  104  —  Shall  and  Will 

The  auxiliary  verbs  used  to  form  the  future  tenses  are 
shall  and  will.  The  two  must  be  carefully  distinguished 
because  they  denote  different  ideas,  according  to  the  person 
with  which  they  are  used.  The  rule  is,  to  express  simple 
future  time,  use  shall  in  the  first  person,  ivill  in  the  second 
and  third  persons. 

The  future  tense  of  the  verb  walk  is  conjugated  as  follows: 

I  shall  walk  We  shall  walk 

You  will  walk  You  will  walk 

He  will  walk  They  will  walk 

This  is  the  form  to  use  when  you  expect  the  action  to 
take  place  naturally. 

On  the  other  hand,  instead  of  letting  things  take  their 
natural  course  as  they  do  in  the  simple  future,  you  may 
force  them  to  take  place.  You  may,  for  example,  be  deter- 
mined to  walk,  or  determined  to  make  some  one  else  walk. 
In  that  case  the  use  is  reversed;  as, 

I  will  walk  We  will  walk 

You  shall  walk  You  shall  walk 

He  shall  walk  They  shall  walk 

This  form  is  used  whenever  the  speaker  has  authority  to 
bring  about  the  action  indicated  by  the  verb. 

In  questions  of  the  first  person  always  use  shall.  In 
questions  of  the  second  and  third  persons  use  the  same 
form  that  you  expect  in  the  answer;  as, 

Shall  you  be  at  home  to-morrow?     I  shaU. 

In  the  following  sentences  insert  shall  or  mil,  giving  the 
reason  for  your  choice: 

1.  I finish  the  work  by  three  o^clock,  I  think. 

2.  To-morrow  he feel  sorry  for  this;  I  vow  it. 


THE    VERB  93 

3.  I  am  sorry,  but  I not  be  able  to  finish  the  work  before 

next  week. 

4.   you  finish  your  business  course  in  February  or  in 

June?    I finish  in  June,  I  think. 

5.  he  finish  in  February?    No,  he finish  in  June. 

6.  The  foreman  declares  he not  have  another  chance. 

7.  He see  his  mistake  when  it  is  too  late. 

8.  They surely  be  at  the  station  to  meet  me. 

9.  I'm  afraid  you be  kicked  if  you  go  near  that  horse. 

10.  If  he  doesn't  take  the  examination,  he fail. 

11.  I  am  determined  that  I win. 

12.  I sail  probably  on  the  fifteenth. 

13.  He be  twenty-one  to-morrow. 

14.  I go  in  spite  of  him. 

15.  you  go  by  train,  do  you  think? 

16.  I be  greatly  obliged  if  you send  the  book  at  once. 

17.  I  promise  you  John know  his  lesson  to-morrow. 

18.  you  be  at  home  this  evening? 

19.  the  train  be  on  time? 

20.  the  store  be  open  this  evening? 

Conjugate  the  future  and  future  perfect  tenses  of  the 
following  verbs: 


drive 

see 

go 

run 

sweep 

ride 

choose 

sing 

eat 

seU 

Exercise  105  —  Should  and  Would 

Should  and  would  are  the  past  tenses  of  shall  and  will 
and,  in  general,  express  the  same  ideas  as  do  shall  and  willy 
except  that  should  sometimes  means  ought;  as, 

You  should  not  speak  in  that  way. 

Wouldy  also,  sometimes    indicates    an    action   that  occurs 
frequently;    as, 

She  would  often  sit  at  the  window  all  the  morning. 

The  use  of  should  and  would  in  indirect  statements  and 
questions  is  sometimes  puzzling.  First  of  all,  decide  whether 
shall  or  will  would  be  used  in  the  direct  form  of  the  sentence. 


94  GRAMMAR 

If  the  direct  form  uses  shall,  use  should  in  the  indirect;   if 
the  direct  uses  will,  use  would  in  the  indirect;  as, 

Direct:  The  market  will  improve. 

Indirect:  He  said  that  the  market  would  improve. 

In  conditional  clauses  {if),  use  should  for  all  persons. 

Insert  should  or  would, 

1.  If  I  knew  his  address,  I send  him  a  telegram. 

2.  He  promised  that  he not  make  the  mistake   again. 

(The  direct  form  would  read,  I  will  not ) 

3.  I  promised  that  I not  make  the  mistake  again. 

4.  You  promised  that  you not  make  the  mistake  again. 

5.  Do  you  think  that  I go? 

6.  I if  I  were  you. 

7.  I think  he know  better  than  to  apply  for  that 

position. 

8.  John  said  that,  no  matter  what  we  thought,  he not  go. 

9.  If  you decide  to  accept   the  offer,  let  me  know  at 

once. 

10.  I  am  sorry  he  did  that.    He not,  of  course. 

11.  If  I see  him,  I'd  let  him  know. 

12.  If  he come  during  my  absence,  ask  him  to  wait. 

13.  I think  you  would  be  more  careful. 

14.  Let  me  know  if  you not  be  able  to  come. 

Exercise  106 

Change  the  italicized  verbs  to  past  tense,  future,  present 
perfect,  past  perfect,  future  perfect.  Wherever  necessary, 
add  sufficient  to  make  the  meaning  of  the  tense  clear;  as, 

Present:  The  manager  is  now  in  his  office. 

Past:  The  manager  was  in  his  office  a  few  minutes  ago. 

Future:  The  manager  will  he  in  his  office  to-morrow  at  ten  0^ clock. 

Present  Perfect:  The  manager  has  been  in  his  office  all  the  morn- 
ing.    (It  is  still  morning.) 

Past  Perfect:  The  manager  had  been  in  his  office  only  a  few 
moments  when  the  president  arrived. 

Future  Perfect:  In  about  five  minutes  the  manager  will  have  been 
in  the  president's  office  exactly  three  hours. 


THE    VERB  95 

1.  The  cashier  opens  the  safe  in  the  morning. 

2.  The  mechanic  earns  good  wages. 

3.  The  buyer  leaves  to-night. 

4.  The  bookkeeper  makes  out  the  statements. 

5.  The  correspondent  writes  the  booklets. 

6.  The  advertising  manager  approves  the  copy. 

7.  The  adding  machine  is  broken. 

8.  The  chief  clerk  attends  to  the  incoming  mail. 

9.  The  superintendent  visits  the  factory  every  day. 

10.  The  salesman  is  selling  five  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods 
a  week. 

Exercise  107 

The  present  tense  is  used  to  indicate  facts  that  were  true 
in  past  time  and  are  still  true.  Omit  the  incorrect  form  in 
the  following  sentences: 

1.  He  glared  so  fiercely  that  I  couldn't  remember  what  my 
name  was  —  is,  nor  where  I  lived  —  live, 

2.  What  was  —  is  the  name  of  that  book  that  you  enjoyed 
so  much? 

3.  Didn't  you  know  that  the  lion  is  —  was  called  the  king  of 
beasts? 

4.  They  told  me  that  the  legal  rate  of  interest  at  present  is  — 
was  six  per  cent. 

5.  Have  you  ever  heard  him  try  to  prove  that  black  is  —  was 
white? 

6.  What  is  —  was  the  name  of  the  banker  who  lectured  to 
us  yesterday? 

7.  I  never  could  remember  what  the  important  products  of 
my  county  are  —  were. 

8.  The  advocate  of  Equal  Suffrage  argued  that  mothers 
need  —  needed  the  ballot  to  protect  their  children. 

9.  She  said  that  a  democracy  is  —  was  a  government  of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  and  that  women  are  — 
were  people  as  well  as  men. 

10.  The  speaker  asserted  that  this  country  needs  —  needed  a 
tariff  to  protect  home  industries. 

Exercise  108 — Principal  Parts 

No  one  can  be  certain  of  using  the  correct  form  of  a  verb 
unless  he  knows  the  principal  parts.    Some  verbs  are  regular; 


96 


GRAMMAR 


that  is,  they  form  their  past  tense  and  their  perfect  parti- 
ciple by  adding  ed  to  the  present  tense;  as, 

Present  Past  Perfect  Participle 

walk  walked  walked 

Some  verbs,  however,  are  very  irregular,  having  a  different 
form  for  each  of  the  principal  parts.  A  list  of  such  verbs 
follows: 


^resent 

Past 

Perfect  Participle 

arise 

arose 

arisen 

awake 

awoke  or 

awaked           awaked 

be 

was 

been 

tear  (carry) 

bore 

borne 

beat 

beat 

beaten 

become 

became 

become 

begin 

began 

begun 

bid 

bade 

bidden 

bite 

bit 

bitten 

blow 

blew 

blown 

break 

broke 

broken 

choose 

chose 

chosen 

come 

came 

come 

do 

did 

done 

draw 

drew 

drawn 

drink 

drank 

drunk 

drive 

drove 

driven 

eat 

ate 

eaten 

fall 

feU 

fallen 

fly 

flew 

flown 

forbid 

forbade 

forbidden 

forsake 

forsook 

forsaken 

freeze 

froze 

frozen 

give 

gave 

given 

go 

went 

gone 

grow 

grew 

grown 

hide 

hid 

hidden 

know 

knew 

known 

lie  (to  rest) 

lay 

lain 

ride 

rode 

ridden 

ring 

rang 

rung 

Present 
rise 
run 
see 
shake 
show 
shrink 
sing 
slay 
slide 
sow 
speak 
spring 
steal 
strive 
swear 
swell 
swim 
take 
tear 
throw 
wear 
weave 
write 


THE    VERB 

97 

Past 

Perfect  Participle 

rose 

risen 

ran 

run 

saw 

seen 

shook 

shaken 

showed 

shown 

shrank 

shrunk 

sang 
slew 

sung 
slain 

slid 

slidden 

sowed 

sown 

spoke 

spoken 

sprang 
stole 

sprung 
stolen 

strove 

striven 

swore 

sworn 

swelled 

swelled,  swollen 

swam 

swum 

took 

taken 

tore 

torn 

threw 

thrown 

wore 

worn 

wove 

woven 

wrote 

written 

Exercise  109 

Some  verbs,  though  irregularly  formed,  have  the  past 
tense  and  perfect  participle  alike.  A  list  of  such  verbs 
follows: 


Present 

Past 

Perfect  Participle 

bend 

bent 

bent 

behold 

beheld 

beheld 

beseech 

besought 

besought 

bind 

bound 

bound 

bleed 

bled 

bled 

bless 

blessed,  blest 

blessed,  blest 

bring 

brought 

brought 

build 

built 

built 

bum 

burned,  burnt 

burned,  burnt 

8 

GRAMMAR 

Present 

Past 

Perfect  Participle 

buy- 

bought 

bought 

catch 

caught 

caught 

cling 

clung 

clung 

clothe 

clothed,  clad 

clothed,  clad 

creep 

crept 

crept 

deal 

dealt 

dealt 

dig 

dug 

dug 

dream 

dreamed,  dreamt 

dreamed,  dreamt 

dweU 

dwelt 

dwelt 

flee 

fled 

fled 

grind 

ground 

ground 

hang 

hung,  hanged 

hung,  hanged 

have 

had 

had 

hear 

heard 

heard 

hold 

held 

held 

kneel 

knelt 

knelt 

lay- 

laid 

laid 

lead 

led 

led 

leap 

leapt 

leapt 

lend 

lent 

lent 

pay 

paid 

paid 

say 

said 

said 

shine 

shone 

shone 

sit 

sat 

sat 

sleep 

slept 

slept 

sling 

slung 

slung 

speed 

sped 

sped 

spin 

spun 

spun 

stand 

stood 

stood 

sting 

stung 

stung 

strike 

struck 

struck 

string 

strung 

strung 

sweep 

swept 

swept 

swing 

swung 

swung 

teach 

taught 

taught 

think 

thought 

thought 

weep 

wept 

wept 

win 

won 

won 

wind 

wound 

wound 

wring 

wrung 

wrung 

r 


THE    VERB 


Exercise  no 


99 


Some  verbs  have  all  three  forms  alike.    A  list  of  such 


follows: 


Present 
bet 
burst 
cast 
cost 
cut 
hit 
hurt 
knit 
let 
put 
rid 
set 
shed 
spread 
sweat 
wet 


Past 

bet 

burst 

cast 

cost 

cut 

hit 

hurt 

knit 

let 

put 

rid 

set 

shed 

spread 

sweat 

wet 


Perfect  Participle 
bet 
burst 
cast 
cost 
cut 
hit 
hurt 
knit 
let 
put 
rid 
set 
shed 
spread 
sweat 
wet 


Exercise  in 

Choose  the  correct  form  of  the  italicized  words  below,  and 
give  the  reason  for  your  choice. 

1.  If  it  donH  —  doesnH  fit  you,  we  shall  alter  it. 

2.  I  knew  —  knowed  I  was  right. 

3.  Aren't  —  ain't  you  glad  we  came? 

4.  AinH  —  isn't  he  well? 

5.  We  done  —  did  the  right  thing. 

6.  Let  —  leave  the  book  on  the  table. 

7.  Let  —  leave  me  do  as  I  planned. 

8.  Mary  has  broke  —  broken  her  arm. 

9.  My  mother  has  gone  —  went  to  Boston. 

10.  Where  was  —  were  you  yesterday? 

11.  When  the  dinner  bell  rang  —  rung^  we  all  come  —  came 
running  in. 

12.  He  donH  —  doesnH  know  what  you  said. 

13.  To  what  hospital  have  they  taken  —  took  him? 

14.  I  saw  —  seen  him  a  few  minutes  ago. 


lOO  GRAMMAR 

15.  I  saw  —  seen  him  yesterday. 

16.  I  should  have  —  of  brought  my  book. 

17.  My  winter  coat  is  wore  —  worn  out. 

18.  Have  you  ever  rode  —  ridden  in  an  aeroplane? 

19.  I  have  shown  —  showed  you  all  the  styles  I  have. 

20.  DonH  —  doesn't  it  seem  odd  that  he  donH  —  doesnH  come? 

21.  She  donH  —  doesnH  remember  you. 

22.  We  began  —  begun  the  work  yesterday. 

23.  I'm  afraid  my  foot  is  froze  — frozen. 

24.  We  ran  —  run  all  the  way. 

25.  IVe  shook  —  shaken  him  three  times,  but  he  don't  —  doesnH 
awake. 

26.  The  bell  rang  —  rung  just  before  you  entered. 

27.  She  sang  —  sung  very  well. 

28.  He  swam  —  swum  all  yesterday  morning. 

29.  Why  donH  —  doesn't  some  one  tell  John  that  his  coat  is 
tore  —  torn  ? 

30.  DonH — doesnH  mother  know   that   the  vase   is   broke — 
broken? 

Exercise  112  —  Troublesome  Verbs 

Lie,  Lay 

Lie  is  intransitive;   /a}' is  transitive.     Lie  ^igni^es  to  rest; 
lay,  to  place.    Insert  the  correct  form  in  the  following: 

1.  He  told  me  to  — ^^^—  the  book  on  the  table.    It  -^- —  there 
now.  ^  >i.^,9A  \ 

2.  I  -^^^~  all  day  waiting  for  help  to  arrive. 

3.  Where  did  you the  purse? 

4.  I  -r-t^\it  on  your  desk. 

5.  I  have  , — r-  the  letters  on  your  desk. 

6.  They  told  me  to  ^r^—  down.    I  -t?— -  down  for  about  two 
hours. 

7.  As  I  wished  to  bleach  the  clothes,  I them  on  the  grass. 

8.  the  bundle  down  and  listen  to  me. 

9.  You  will  probably  find  your  cap ing  where  it  has 

since  you  dropped  it. 

10.  They  let  the  field fallow. 

11.  How  long  has  it fallow? 

12.  Yesterday  he  *-^—  on  the  grass  almost  all  day. 

13.  The  hunter still  and  watched. 

14.  He his  gun  beside  him  and  waited. 


THE    VE^B  TOI 

15.  It  will  -A-^undisturbed  till  morning. 

16.  p"'''   down  awhile  before  dinner. 

17.  I  don't  know  how  long  he  has  — —  here. 

18.  He  let  his  tools  — -^  in  the  rain. 

Exercise  113 — Troublesome  Verbs 

Sit,  Set  • 

Sit  is  intransitive  and  signifies  to  rest.    Set  is  transitive 
and  means  to  place.    Insert  the  correct  form: 

1.  I  have  -7—  the  ferns  in  the  rain. 

2.  -7--^  down  for  a  few  minutes. 

3.  She  drew  up  a  chair  and down,  while  we  were ting 

down  the  probable  expenses  of  the  new  house. 

4.  Why  don't  you us  a  good  example? 

5.  ting  the  table  is  not  strenuous  enough  for  one  who 

has  been ting  all  day. 

6.  The  hen  is  — ^ — ting  on  her  eggs. 

7.  The  man  is ting  out  trees. 

8.  stiU;  I'U  go. 

Fly,  Flow,  Flee 

Remember  that  birds  fly;  rivers  flow;  hunted  creatures 

flee. 

9.  Still  the  river on  its  accustomed  course. 

10.  Every  autumn  the  birds south. 

11.  The  birds  have  not  yet away. 

12.  The  deer before  the  dogs. 

Rise,  Raise 

Rise  is  intransitive;  raise  is  transitive. 

13.  I  have  been  trying  all  morning  to this  window. 

14.  I  set  the  bread  to  — — . 

15.  He  will  surely  ^ — -in  his  profession. 

Teach,  Learn 

16.  Will  you me  how  to  play  tennis? 

17.  I  thought  you  had how  to  play  tennis. 

18.  I (past  tense)  her  the  new  system  of  filing. 


I02  GRAMMAR 

May,  Can 

May  signifies  permission;  can  denotes  possibility. 

19.   I  use  your  book? 

20.   you  write  shorthand  ? 

21.   I  go  with*  you? 

22.  My  mother  says  that  I go  with  you. 

Might,  Could 

Might  is  the  past  tense  of  may,  and  could  is  the  past 
tense  of  can. 

23.  He  said  that  I go. 

24.  He do  the  work  if  he  wished. 

25.  Did  you  say  I use  your  typewriter? 

Exercise  114  —  Accept,  Except 

Accept  means  to  receive.  Except  as  a  verb  means  to  ex- 
clude; as  a  preposition  it  means  with  the  exception  of.  Insert 
the  correct  form  in  the  following: 

1.  Did  you the  position?    Yes,  no  one  applied  for  it 

'■ me. 

2.  I  have  no  other  reason    for  not ing  your  invitation 

that  I  shall  not  be  in  the  city. 

3.  Mary  all ed  the  invitation. 

4.  He  would  not the  money on  one  condition. 

5.  Why  do  you him  from  the  general  offer  that  you  are 

making? 

6.  I  agree  with  you on  one  point. 

7.  He ed  the  rebuke  in  silence. 

8.  We  were  forced  to their  conditions. 

9.  He  said  he  would  not the  money that  he  knew 

he  could  return  it. 

10.   You  have  answered  everything what  I  asked  you. 

Exercise  115  —  Affect,  Efifect 

A  feet  means  to  influence.    It  is  always  a  verb.     Effect  sls 
a  verb  means  to  bring  to  pass;    as  a  noun  it  means  result. 
Insert  the  correct  form  in  the  following  sentences: 
I.  His  opinion  does  not the  case. 


V 


THE    VERB 


103 


2.  How  does  war trade? 

3.  His  walking  has  had  a  good upon  his  health. 

4.  The  ruling  did  not the  wholesale  dealers,  but  it  had 

a  big upon  us. 

5.  What did  the  loss  have  upon  him? 

6.  The  failure  of  the  bank ed  the  small  depositors  but 

had  no upon  the  big  business  men. 

7.  The of  the  law  has  been  startling  because  of  the 

number  of  people ed  by  it. 

8.  They  ed  the  consolidation,  but  thereby  produced  a 

bad upon  the  price  of  their  stock. 

9.  The   accident   seriously ed  his  nervous  system.     In 

fact,  the of  the  fall  is  only  gradually  disappearing. 

10.   Did  the  celebrated  physician  really a  cure? 

Exercise  116  —  Lose,  Loose 

Lose  is  a  verb,  while  loose  is  usually  an  adjective.   The  two 
should  be  carefully  distinguished.    Insert  the  correct  form: 

1 .  I  have  a  note  book  with leaves. 

2.  Aren^t  you  afraid  you  will some  of  the leaves  of 

that  book? 

3.  Be  careful  that  you  don't that bolt. 

4.  Do  you  remember  that  you  had  warned  me  that  I'd 

the button  on  my   coat?     I   did it   not  five  minutes 

afterward. 

5.  One  of  the  hinges  of  the  door  has  become . 

6.  Do  not the change  in  that  pocket. 

7.  He  will the  parcel  as  the  cord  is . 

8.  Did  you the leaf  journal? 

9.  She  may the  money,  as  the  clasp  of  her  purse  is . 

10.   I  keep  my journal  paper  together  by  a  rubber  band 

so  that  there  will  be  no  chance  of ing  it. 

Exercise  117  — Had  ought 

Wrong:  We  had  ought  to  go. 
Right:  We  ought  to  go. 
Wrong :  We  had  ought  to  have  gone. 
Right:  We  ought  to  have  gone. 


I04  GRAMMAR 

Correct  the  following  sentences: 

1.  I  had  ought  to  have  studied  harder. 

2.  You  ought  to  do  it,  hadn't  you? 

3.  Hadn't  you  ought  to  have  gone? 

4.  Yes,  I  had  ought  to  have  gone  yesterday. 

5.  Do  you  think  I  had  ought  to  have  accepted? 

6.  He  had  ought  to  come  to-morrow. 

7.  The  tickets  had  ought  to  have  come  from  the  printer's 
yesterday. 

8.  We  had  not  ought  to  stay  out  so  late. 

9.  You  had  ought  to  wear  your  coat. 

10.  He  had  ought  to  have  become  naturalized. 

11.  You  had  ought  to  have  washed  the  dishes  before  you  went 
out. 

12.  You  had  ought  to  take  an  umbrella. 

13.  You  had  ought  to  have  heard  what  she  said. 

14.  We  hadn't  ought  to  disagree. 

15.  You  ought  to  have  invested,  hadn't  you? 

Exercise  118 
Conjugation  of  the  verb  be  in  the 

Indicative  Mode 


Present  Tense 

Singular 

Plural 

I  am 

We  are 

You  are 

You  are 

He  is 

They  are 

Past  Tense 

I  was 

We  were 

You  were 

You  were 

He  was 

They  were 

Future  Tense 

I shaU  be 

We  shall  be 

You  will  be 

You  will  be 

He  wiU  be 

They  will  be 

THE    VERB 

Present  Perfect  Tense 


los 


I  have  been 
You  have  been 
He  has  been 


We  have  been 
You  have  been 
They  have  been 


Past  Perfect  Tense 

I  had  been  We  had  been 

You  had  been  You  had  been 

He  had  been  They  had  been 


I  shall  have  been 
You  will  have  been 
He  will  have  been 


Future  Perfect  Tense 

We  shall  have  been 
You  will  have  been 
They  will  have  been 


The  verb  he  is  used  to  form  the  progressive  tenses  of  the 
active  voice  (See  Exercise  102)  and  the  simple  tenses  of 
the  passive  voice;  as, 


Passive  Voice 

Present  Tense 

Plural 


Singular 

I  am  followed 
You  are  followed 
He  is  followed 


I  was  followed 
You  were  followed 
He  was  followed 


I  shall  be  followed 
You  will  be  followed 
He  will  be  followed 


We  are  followed 
You  are  followed 
They  are  followed 


Past  Tense 


We  were  followed 
.You  were  followed 
They  were  followed 


Future  Tense 


We  shall  be  followed 
You  will  be  followed 
They  will  be  followed 


io6 


GRAMMAR 


Present  Perfect  Tense 

I  have  been  followed  We  have  been  followed 

You  have  been  followed  You  have  been  followed 

He  has  been  followed  They  have  been  followed 

Past  Perfect  Tense 

I  had  been  followed  We  had  been  followed 

You  had  been  followed  You  had  been  followed 

He  had  been  followed  They  had  been  followed 

Future  Perfect  Tense 

I  shall  have  been  followed  We  shall  have  been  followed 

You  will  have  been  followed       You  will  have  been  followed 
He  will  have  been  followed         They  will  have  been  followed 

If  we  add  the  progressive  form  wherever  it  may  be  used, 
we  have  the  following  synopsis  of  the  indicative  mood: 


Tenses 


Primary 


Passive  Voice 

p  I  am  followed     (simple) 

I  am  being  followed    (progressive) 


Past 


I  was  followed     (simple) 

I  was  being  followed  (progressive) 


,  Future  I  shall  be  followed 


f  Present  Perfect  I  have  been  followed 
Perfect     \  Past  Perfect        I  had  been  followed 

i  Future  Perfect    I  shall  have  been  followed 


Exercise  up 
Conjugate  the  following  in  the  passive  voice: 

1 .  Simple  present  of  pay» 

2.  Progressive  past  of  pay. 

3.  Present  perfect  of  throw. 

4.  Future  of  praise. 

5.  Past  perfect  of /(?rge/. 


THE    VERB  107 

6.  Progressive  present  of  choose, 

7.  Past  progressive  of  choose. 

8.  Future  of  choose. 

9.  Future  perfect  of  choose. 
10.  Past  perfect  of  choose. 

Exercise  120 

Supply  the  verb  forms  indicated.    Use  the  active  unless 
the  passive  is  definitely  called  for. 

1.  The  vegetables  (present  perfect  of  lie)  in  water  all  the 
morning. 

2.  Rumors  (past  progressive  passive  of  spread)  far  and  wide 
that  Germany  would  fight  England. 

3.  I  thought  the  gingham  (past  perfect  passive  of  shrink) 
before  the  dress  (past  passive  of  made). 

4.  I  am  afraid  my  ear  (present  progressive  oi  freeze). 

5.  Is  it  true  that  your  ring  (present  perfect  passive  of  steal)} 

6.  A  sudden  storm  (past  of  arise)  yesterday  afternoon,  and  a 
little  boy  (past  passive  of  drown)  in  the  river  where  he  and  several 
of  his  companions  (past  perfect  progressive  of  swim)  since  noon. 

7.  I  (present  perfect  of  speak)  of  the  matter  to  no  one. 

8.  I  suppose  that  it  (present  perfect  passive  of  break). 

9.  I  must  (present  perfect  of  show)  him  twenty  different  styles, 
but  he  (past  of  choose)  hone  of  them,  for  as  soon  as  I  (past  of  show) 
him  one,  he  (past  of  shake)  his  head. 

10.  She  (past  progressive  of  wring)  out  the  clothes  when  the 
door  bell  (past  of  ring). 

11.  I  am  afraid  my  purse  (present  passive  of  lose). 

12.  The  knight  (past  of  say)  that  he  (past  perfect  of  decide) 
(infinitive  of  follow)  the  quest. 

13.  I  thought  I  (past  perfect  of  bring)  you  the  morning  paper. 

14.  He  (past  of  swim)  the  river  twice  yesterday. 

15.  There  he  stood  (present  participle  of  ring)  the  dinner  bell. 

16.  His  coat  (present  perfect  passive  of  wet)   through  more 
than  once. 

17.  The  trip  (past  of  cost)  him  a  hundred  dollars. 

18.  I  (past  of  see)  the  superintendent  yesterday,  but  he  said 
that  there  (present  of  be)  no  vacancies  at  present. 

19.  They  (past  of  lay)  the  clippings  on  the  desk,  and  then  they 
(past  of  sit)  down. 


io8  GRAMMAR 

20.  As  he  (past  of  speak)  ^  he  (past  progressive  of  shake)  from 
head  to  foot. 

21.  The  clouds  (past  of  lie)  low  on  the  horizon. 

22.  The  building  in  which  I  work  (present  perfect  passive  of 
hum). 

23.  Your  employer  (present  perfect  of  deal)  fairly  with  you. 

24.  I  (present  perfect  of  have)  the  same  position  for  three 
years. 

25.  I  (future  of  lend)  him  no  money. 

26.  The  floor  (past  passive  of  lay)  by  an  expert  workman. 

27.  The  beads  (past  passive  of  string)  on  a  waxed  thread. 

28.  He  (present  perfect  of  throw)  the  whole  office  into  con- 
fusion. 

29.  Before  he  came  forward,  he  (past  of  set)  the  child  down. 

30.  After  the  storm,  leaves  and  twigs  (past  progressive  of  lie) 
thick  upon  the  roads. 

31.  He  (past  of  drive)  to  town  yesterday.  He  (future  of  go) 
again  to-morrow. 

32.  The  dictionary  (present  progressive  of  lie)  on  the  table 
where  you  (past  of  lay)  it. 

33.  The  dog  (past  of  lay)  the  bone  down,  and  then  he  (past  of 
lie)  down. 

34.  He  (past  of  set)  the  chair  by  the  window  and  then  (past  of 
sit)  down. 

35.  I  think  we  (future  of  see)  him  as  we  pass,  for  he  usually 
(present  of  lie)  on  a  couch  by  the  window. 

36.  The  snow  (past  perfect  progressive  of  Jail)  for  several 
hours  and  now  (past  of  lie)  deep  on  every  path. 

37.  Everything  (present  perfect  passive  of  lay)  in  readiness. 

38.  (Present  participle  of  lie)  in  the  hammock,  he  soon  fell 
asleep. 

39.  I  saw  the  man  (present  participle  of  lie)  on  the  ground. 

40.  After  he  (past  perfect  of  lie)  there  a  few  minutes,  he  sud- 
denly (past  of  sit)  up. 

41.  The  biplane,  which  (past  perfect  progressive  of  lie)  in  the 
hangar  since  it  (past  perfect  passive  of  raise)  from  the  water  in 
which  it  (past  perfect  of  lie)  for  two  weeks,  (past  of  rise)  up  over 
the  city. 

42.  Large  crowds  (past  progressive  of  sit)  on  the  fields,  (present 
participle  of  wait)  for  the  aeroplane  (infinitive  of  rise) . 

43.  Many  people  (past  perfect  of  set)  tents  on  the  field  during 
the  night  and  now  (past  progressive  of  get)  sl  good  view  of  the  flight. 


THE    VERB  109 

44.  All  eyes  (past  progressive  of  turn)  toward  the  aeroplane, 
which  (past  progressive  of  rise)  steadily. 

45.  The  biplane  (past  of  rise)  until  it  (past  perfect  of  rise)  about 
five  hundred  feet  above  the  tallest  building;  then  it  (past  passive 
of  raise)  about  fifty  feet  more  to  get  it  out  of  an  air  current  that 
(past  progressive  of  raise)  one  end  of  it. 

Exercise  121  —  Infinitives  and  Participles 

Infinitives  are  verb  forms  that  are  used  as  nouns,  as  adjec- 
tives, or  as  adverbs.  Participles  are  verb  forms  that  are 
used  as  adjectives.  Thus  at  the  same  time  each  acts  as  two 
parts  of  speech.  As  verbs  both  have  the  meaning  of  the 
verbs  from  which  they  are  made;  both  have  tense  and  voice; 
both  may  be  modified  by  adverbial  expressions;  and,  if  they 
are  made  from  transitive  verbs,  both  may  take  objects. 

The  Participle 
The  tenses  and  voices  of  the  participle  are  as  follows: 


AcTn^E  Voice 

Simple 
selling 

having  sold 

Present 

Progressive 

Perfect 

having  been  selling 

Passive  Voice 

being  sold 

Present 

Perfect 
having  been  sold                                     

The  participle  frequently  introduces  a  phrase.  Usually 
the  phrase  is  used  like  an  adjective;  occasionally  it  is  used 
like  a  noun  (sometimes  called  the  gerund  phrase). 


no  GRAMMAR 

Adjective:   Seeing  your  perplexity,  I'll  offer  a  suggestion. 

(Notice  the  punctuation.) 
Noun  (Gerund) :   Flaying  tennis  is  good  exercise. 

The  Infinitive 

The  infinitive  is  distinguished  by  the  word  to,  either 
expressed  or  understood.  The  tenses  and  voices  of  the 
infinitive  are  as  follows: 


Active  Voice 

Simple 
to  sell 

Present 

Progressive 
to  be  selling 

to  have  sold 

Perfect 

to  have  been  selling 

Passive  Voice 

to  be  sold 

Present 

to  have  been  sold 

Perfect 

The  infinitive  is  often  used  to  introduce  a  phrase;  as, 
Noun :   To  get  to  the  top  of  the  hill  was  a  difficult  matter. 
Adverb:  I  went  to  buy  the  sugar. 
Adjective:  It's  a  drawing  to  be  proud  of. 

Grouping  all  the  facts  that  we  have  thus  far  learned  about 
phrases,  and  expressing  them  in  diagram  form,  we  have  the 
following : 

Phrases  may  be  classified: 

According  to  Form  According  to  Use 

Prepositional  Adverbial 

Participial  (Gerund)  Adjective 

Infinitive  Noun 


r 


THE    VERB  III 


I 


The  prepositional  and  infinitive  phrases  may  have  all  three 
uses;  the  participial  phrase  has  two  —  adjective  and  noun 
(gerund). 

Variety  of  Expression 

Phrases  are  important  because,  like  clauses,  they  help  us 
to  vary  the  form  of  our  sentences.  They  help  us,  above  all, 
to  avoid  the  childish  so  habit.  Thus,  instead  of  They  wished 
to  make  the  ice  smooth  so  they  flooded  the  pond,  we  may  use, 
for  example: 

Subordinate  clause:  Because  (as,  since)  they  wished  to  make  the 
ice  smooth,  they  flooded  the  pond. 

Participial  phrase:  Wishing  to  make  the  ice  smooth,  they 
flooded  the  pond. 

Infinitive  phrase :  To  make  the  ice  smooth,  they  flooded  the  pond. 

Gerund  phrase :  Flooding  the  pond  made  the  ice  smooth. 

Prepositional  phrase  modifying  noun  subject:  The  flooding  of 
the  pond  made  the  ice  smooth. 

Recast  each  of  the  following  sentences  in  at  least  two  of 
the  ways  shown  above: 

1.  They  wished  to  finish  the  work  -so  they  stayed  till  six 
o'clock. 

2.  John  hoped  to  arrive  before  the  others  so  he  started  early. 

3.  He  saw  that  the  cars  were  not  running  so  he  walked  so  he 
would  be  on  time. 

4.  They  needed  some  gasoline  so  they  had  to  stop  at  a  garage. 

5.  He  wished  to  make  a  tool  chest  so  he  bought  some  lumber. 

6.  They  saw  that  he  liked  to  read  so  they  gave  him  several 
books. 

7.  She  wished  to  make  a  good  appearance  at  the  party  so  she 
bought  a  new  dress. 

8.  He  was  in  a  hurry  so  he  walked  fast. 

9.  We  were  afraid  that  we'd  be  late  so  we  ran. 

10.  The  campers  thought  they'd  like  a  fire  so  they  gathered  a 
quantity  of  dry  leaves  and  wood. 

11.  I  was  very  tired  when  I  reached  home  so  I  couldn't  go  to 
the  lecture. 


112  GRAMMAR 

12.   The  work  was  difficult  so  it  took  three  hours  to  finish  it. 
L^.   The  clock  needed  repairing  so  he  took  it  to  a  jeweler's. 

14.  The  coat  did  not  fit  so  she  sent  it  back. 

15.  She  didn't  know  where  to  take  the  train  so  she  asked  a 
policeman. 

Exercise   122 —  Mode 

Mode  is  the  form  of  the  verb  that  indicates  the  manner  of 
expressing  the  thought.  The  modes,  or  moods,  that  every- 
one should  be  able  to  distinguish  are  the  indicative  and  the 
subjunctive.  If  the  verb  indicates  a  fact,  we  say  it  is  in  the 
indicative  mode;  if  it  expresses  a  supposition,  a  doubt,  a 
statement  contrary  to  fact,  or  a  wish,  we  say  it  is  in  the 
subjunctive  mode. 

You  are  good.  (A  fact  —  indicative.) 

I  wish  I  were  good.     (Contrary  to  fact,  a  wish  —  subjunctive.) 

In  form  the  indicative  and  the  subjunctive  differ  in  the 
present  and  the  past  tenses  of  the  verb  to  be,  as  follows: 

Indicative  of  be 
Present  Past 

I  am  We  are  I  was  We  were 

You  are  You  are  You  were  You  were 

He  is  They  are  He  was  They  were 

Subjunctive  of  be 

Present  Past 

If  I  be  If  we  be  If  I  were  If  we  were 

If  you  be  If  you  be  If  you  were        If  you  were 

If  he  be  If  they  be  If  he  were  If  they  were 

Other  verbs  in  the  subjunctive  mode  do  not  end  in  5  in 
the  third  person  singular  number,  but  use  the  same  form 
as  the  other  persons  in  the  singular  number;  as,  if  he  go,  if 
she  walk. 

If,  though,  although,  or  lest  usually  introduce  the  subjunc- 
tive form. 


THE    VERB  113 

In  modern  English,  the  use  of  the  subjunctive  is  becom- 
ing rare  except  in  the  past  and  past  perfect  tenses  in  state- 
ments contrary  to  fact,  and  in  wishes,  which  are  really 
statements  contrary  to  fact;  as, 

1.  If  I  were  a  king  (but  I'm  not),  I'd  see  that  my  laws  were 
obeyed. 

2.  I  wish  I  were  a  king!  (but  I'm  not). 

3.  If  I  had  been  careful,  my  work  would  be  good.  (I  was  not 
careful.) 

4.  I  wish  I  had  been  careful!     (I  was  not.) 

Notice  that  the  verb  is  in  the  past  or  in  the  past  perfect 
tense. 

There  are  some  careful  writers  who  still  use  the  present 
subjunctive  to  show  a  possibility;  as, 

Lest  he  start  too  late,  remind  him  again  that  he  must  meet  the 
4:15  train. 

In  the  following  sentences,  which  form  is  better?  May 
any  of  the  sentences  use  either  form? 

.  I.   I  wish  I  was  —  were  rich. 

2.  If  I  was  —  were  you,  I  should  go  at  once. 

3.  If  his  work  was  —  were  exact,  he  would  have  no  trouble  in 
holding  a  position. 

4.  If  it  was —  were  true,  why  didn't  you  say  so? 

5.  If  he  was  —  were  a  millionaire,  he  could  not  have  been 
more  lavish. 

6.  If  such  a  thing  was  —  were  possible,  our  government  would 
be  no  government. 

7.  If  the  election  was  —  were  postponed,  we  should  have  been 
informed.  , 

Exercise  123 

Insert  was  or  were  in  each  of  the  following  sentences,  in 
each  case  giving  a  reason  for  your  choice.  Remember  that 
the  indicative  was  is  used  to  denote  a  statement  of  fact 
in  the  past  time,  and  the  subjunctive  were  (singular  and 
plural)  is  used  to  denote  a  possibility,  something  that  is 


114  GRAMMAR 

supposed  to  be  true,  or  a  statement  entirely  contrary  to 
fact,  as  in  a  wish. 

1.  I  wish  I going  with  you. 

2.  As  he not  well,  he  could  not  go. 

3.  If  he well,  he  could  go. 

4.  If  he attentive  in  class,  he  would  not  fail. 

5.  They  treated  me  as  if  I one  of  the  family. 

6.  When  I in  the  South  I  visited  New  Orleans. 

7.  Suppose  she your  guest,  how  would  you  entertain  her? 

8.  He  would  appear  very  tall it  not  for  the  breadth  of 

his  shoulders. 

9.  We  decided  that  if  it  stiU  raining  by  seven  o'clock, 

we  should  not  go. 

10.  If  our  strawberries ripe,  I'd  give  you  some. 

11.  If  the  package  left  yesterday,  as  you  say,  it  must 

have  been  while  I not  at  home. 

12.  If  he late  yesterday,  he  must  start  earlier  to-day. 

13.  If  every  man  honest,  business  life  would  be  very 

pleasant. 

14.  I  saw  that  he not  interested. 

15*  If  he not  interested,  he  surely  looked  as  if  he . 

16.  I  certain  that  the  bonds safe,  I  should  invest  in 

them. 

17.  As  the  tablecloth  stained,  we  laid  it  on  the  grass  to 

bleach  it. 

18.  If  that  stained  tablecloth mine,  I'd  try  bleaching  it. 

19.  If  I  as  interested  in  farming  as  you  are,  I'd  buy  a 

farm. 

20.  If  her  work best,  why  didn't  she  get  the  higher  salary? 

Exercise  124  —  Verbs  Incorrectly  Used 

Wrong  Right 

1.  Let  the  book  on  the  table.  Leave  the  book  on  the  table. 

2.  Leave  me  go  with  you.  Let  me  go  with  you. 

3.  Don't  blante  it  on  me.  Don't  accuse  me. 

4.  Do  you  carry  stationery?  Do  you  sell  stationery? 

5.  The  child  aggravates  me.  The  child  irritates  me. 

6.  Please  except  my  invitation.         Please  accept  my  invitation. 

7.  Where  have  you  located?  Where  have  you  settled? 

(Locate  is  a  transitive  verb.) 


THE    VERB 


"S 


8.  I  expect  you  are  very  busy. 

9.  I  disremember  seeing  him. 

10.  Do  you  mind  where  you  saw  it? 

11.  Where  are  you  stopping? 

12.  Did  you  extend  an  invitation  to 

him? 

13.  This  clock  needs  fixing. 

14.  I  should  admire  to  go. 

15.  I'd  love  to  go. 

16.  He  didn't  show  up  on  time. 

17.  I  had  a  strange  thing  happen 

to  me  yesterday. 

18.  I  didn't  get  to  go. 

19.  Loan  me  your  pencil. 


I  suppose  you  are  very  busy. 
I  don't  remember  seeing  him. 
Do  you  remember  where  you  saw  it? 
Where  are  you  staying? 
Did  you  invite  him? 

This  clock  needs  repairing. 

I  should  like  to  go. 

I'd  like  to  go. 

He  didn't  appear  on  time. 

A  strange  thing  happened  to  me 

yesterday. 
I  was  unable  to  go. 
Lend  me  your  pencil. 


{May  I  borrow  your  pencil  ?  is  correct.     Loan  is  a  noun.) 


20.  I  can't  seem  to  understand  that 

problem. 

21.  I  don't  take  any  stock  in  such 

schemes. 

22.  How  do  you  size  up  the  situa- 

tion? 

23.  I  beg  to  state  .  .  . 


I  seem  unable  to  understand  that 

problem. 
I  have  no  confidence  in  such  schemes. 

What  do  you  think  of  the  situation? 

Omit. 


(This  expression  has  been  so  overdone  in  business  letters  that  it 
should  be  avoided) 


24.  He  dove  off  the  pier. 

25.  He  claims  that  he  was  deceived. 

26.  Can  I  take  your  pencil? 

27.  We  expect  to  get  up  a  club. 

28.  Did  you  notice  how  that  show 

window  was  got  up? 

29.  It  is  going  on  ten  o'clock. 

30.  He  said  to  go  at  once. 


He  dived  off  the  pier. 

He  asserts  (maintains)  that  he  was 

deceived. 
May  I  take  your  pencil? 
We  expect  to  organize  a  club. 
Did  you  notice    how    that    show 

window  was  decorated  ? 
It  is  almost  ten  o'clock. 
He  said  that  we  should  go  at  once. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  PREPOSITION  AND  THE  CONJUNCTION 

Prepositions 

It  is  important  in  the  study  of  prepositions  to  observe 
that  there  are  certain  words  that  are  followed  by  certain 
prepositions.  To  change  the  preposition  is  to  convey  a 
different  meaning  from  the  one  that  the  speaker  intended, 
or  to  convey  no  meaning  at  all.  A  partial  list  of  such  words 
with  their  appropriate  prepositions  follows: 


accompanied 
accompanied 

with 
by 

anything  having  no  life 
anything  having  life 

acquit 

of 

accuse 

of 

adapted 
adapted 
adapted 

to 

for 

from 

a  thing 

a  course,  because  of  one's  nature 

an  author 

agree 
agree 
agree 

to 

with 

upon 

a  plan  or  proposition 

a  person 

something  that  must  be  decided 

angry 
angry 

at 
with 

a  thing 
a  person 

compare 
compare 

with 
to 

to  bring  out  similar  qualities 
without  analyzing 

comply 

with 

confer 
confer 

on 
with 

meaning  to  give  to 
meaning  to  talk  to 

conform 

to 

correspond 
correspond 

to,  with 
with 

a  thing,  denoting  similarity 
meaning  to  write  to 

THE  PREPOSITION 


117 


confide 
confide 

in 
to 

meaning  to  put  faith  in 
meaning  to  commit  to  one^s  1 

different 

from 

dependent 
dependent 

on 
for 

a  person 
a  thing 

independent 

of 

disappointed 

in 

employed 
employed 
employed 

at 
in 
by 

a  certain  place  or  salary 
a  certain  kind  of  business 
a  certain  person  or  company 

enter 
enter 

upon 
at 

duties 
a  door 

followed 

by 

influence 

over,  upon 

expect 

of 

participate 
profit 

in 
by 

remonstrate 
remonstrate 

against 
with 

a  thing 
a  person 

Exercise  125 
Insert  the  correct  preposition  in  the  following: 

1.  I  shall  comply your  request. 

2.  The  chairman  came  upon  the  platform  accompanied 

the  speaker. 

3.  He  took  a  walk  accompanied his  dog. 

4.  The  lecture  will  be  accompanied stereopticon  views. 

5.  Strikes  are  usually  accompanied  — —  riots. 

6.  The  years  of  prosperity  were  followed  — -^-  years  of  fapiine. 

7.  He  was  accused  —ay-  theft,  but  was  acquitted  — -^  the 
accusation.  |^,  ^ 

8.  She  is  well  adapted  -^^'the  position  that  is  open. 

9.  An  electric  iron  is  especially  ad^ted  v---'^"^  summer  use. 

10.  The  selection  was  adapted   \'''^   Irvingv 

11.  This  cloth  is  well  adapted  -rW^  summer  clothing  because 
it  is  very  light  in  weight.  ^ 


ii8  .  GRAMMAR 


Va- 


12.  I  agree  — —  you  that  the  plan  is  impracticable. 

13.  Let  us  agree  now    ^'Y-a,  place  to  spend  our  summer  vaca- 
tion. \ 

14.  That  is  not  a  propositionjnJ^  which  I  shall  agree. 

15.  It  is  silly  to  be  angry \A,^i  an  inanimate  object. 

16.  Don't  be  angry  -—^\a  person  because  he  tells  you  your 
faults.  I 

17.  His  report  corresponds  in  all  respects  -^=^^  yours. 

18.  Mr.  Giles  suggested  that  you  would  be  glad  to  have  us 
correspond  — '•^  you  concerning  our  new  bond  issues./ 

19.  I  shall  confer  — W—  my  lawyer.  t^^sA/^ 

20.  The  public  has  conferred  a,  great  honor  -^^  mm. 

21.  One  should  always  profit  -'^■M  his  experiences. 

22.  The  new  device  is  entirely  different  f-»;— the  dd. 

23.  I  am  employed  /-^^  a  fairly  large  ^alary  -r--r-  a  business 
that  is  growing  daily.  a 

24.  All  employees  must  conform     ^'''    the  rules. 

25.  I  am  confiding  -^'-^  you  because  I  know  that  I  can  trust 

you.  ^    ^^ 

26.  She  confided  her  child     ^    the  care  of  her  brother. 

27.  She  is  dependent  W'^A^er  brother  ^\ ''  ■'  support.     . 

28.  You  can  have  an  influence  (or  good'^^-^  him.  q 

29.  I  have  remonstrated  ^«;'*^-the  change  several  times.  Vw 

30.  Perhaps  he  will  change  his  plans  if  we  remonstrate  ^^^— - 
him  at  once. 


Exercise  126  —  Prepositions  Incorrectly  Used 

Each  of  the  incorrect  sentences  given  below  contains  an 
unnecessary  preposition.  When  the  meaning  of  "Where 
are  you  going?  ^'  is  entirely  clear,  there  is  nothing  gained 
by  saying  "Where  are  you  going  to?^^  Omit  such  super- 
fluous prepositions. 


Wrong 

1.  I  took  it  off  i/"  the  shelf.  I  took  it  off  the  shelf. 

2.  I  shall  accept  of  your  hospi-  I  shall  accept  your  hospitality. 

tality.  ' 

3.  Where  are  you  at?  Where  are  you? 

4.  Where  are  you  going  w  ?  Where  are  you  going? 


THE  PREPOSITION  119 

5.  It  is  a  building  oiL/>ww  twenty    It  is  a  building  twenty  to  thirty 

to  thirty  stories  in  height.  stories  in  height. 

6.  Look  out/Qf  the  window.  Look  out  the  window. 

7.  John  copies  aft^r  his  father  in    John  copies  his  father  in  every- 

everythin^  /  thing. 

8.  I  am  wondering  aboiut  what  I    I  am  wondering  what  I  should  do. 

should  do.         / 

9.  I  shall  consult  wiih  my  lawyer.     I  shall  consult  my  lawyer. 

10.  He  sat  opposite  i(?  me.  He  sat  opposite  me. 

11.  I  shall  leave  later  on.  I  shall  leave  later. 

and  for  to 

12.  I  shall  try  and  go.  I  shall  try  to  go. 

of  for  have 

13.  I  might  of  gone.  I  might  have  gone. 

-{  The  wrong  preposition 

14.  He  fell  in  the  water.  He  fell  into  the  water. 

15.  She  died  with  diphtheria.     .:         She  died  of  diphtheria. 

16.  Divide  the  work  between  the    Divide  the  work  among   the   four 

four  of  us.  of  us. 

{Between  may  be  used  in  speaking  of  only  two  persons  or  things) 

17.  It  will  be  done  inside  of  an    It  will  be  done  within  an  hour. 

hour. 

18.  Are  you  angry  at  me?  Are  you  angry  with  me? 

■^'  ■  ■■  ' 
Preposition  must  be  used 

19.  It's  no  use  to  try.  It's  of  no  use  to  try. 

20.  My  sister  stayed  home.  My  sister  stayed  at  home. 

21.  Why  do  you  act  that  way?  Why  do  you  act  in  that  way? 

22.  We  left  the  third  of  June.  We  left  on  the  third  of  June. 

Exercise  127 

The  object  of  a  preposition  is  always  in  the  objective  case. 
Some  people  have  great  difficulty  in  recognizing  that  in  such 
expressions  as  for  you  a^td  me,  the  pronoun  me  is  as  much 
the  object  of  the  preposition  for  as  the  pronoun  you.    Both 


I20  GRAMMAR 

words  must  be  in  the  objective  case.    It  is  incorrect  to  say 
for  you  and  /. 

In  the  following  sentences  omit  the  incorrect  italicized 
form: 

1.  The  invitation  is  for  father  ana\(  —  me.  ^ 

2.  Every  one  has  finished  his  work  except  \e  —  kun  and  \  — 

3.  It^s  a  question  that  you  and  /  —  nJe  must  decide;  it  refers 
to  you  and  \  —  me  alone.  / 

4.  Girls  like  you  and  she  —  her  should  have  a  good  influence 
over  the  others.  / 

5.  All  but  you  and  /  —  me  have  left. 

6.  He  did  it  for  you  and  1  —  me. 

7.  No  one  objected  but  they  —  them  and  we  —  us, 

8.  She  sat  opposite  you  and  /  —  me. 

9.  They  were  sitting  near  you  and  /  —  me. 

10.  We  expect  you  to  return  with  mother  and  /  —  me. 

11.  He  wanted  my  brother  and  /  —  me  to  go  into  business 
with  his  brother  and  l^e  —  him. 

12.  Neither  s^d—her  nor  her  sister  have  I  seen  for  several 
months. 

13.  My  companion  and  /  —  mie  took  up  the  trail  of  the  bear 
at  once.  For  some  distance  it  led  h^ — him  and  ij — me  over 
the  soft,  yielding  carpet  of  moss  and  j)ine  needles,  ^d  the  foot- 
prints were  quite  easily  made  out. 

14.  He  —  him  and  /  —  nie  had,  of  course,  to  keep  a  sharp  look- 
out ahead  ana  around  for  the  grizzly. 

15.  All  are  going  on  the  excursion  except  he  —  him  and  /  — 
me, 

16.  He  —  him  and  /  —  me  went  fishing. 

17.  The  rule  applies  to  we  —  us  all  —  the  manager,  they  — 
them  who  keep  books,  you,  and  /  —  me. 

18.  She  beckoned  to  my  companion  and  /  —  me. 

19.  The  letter  was  to  be  read  by  the  president  or  /  —  me. 

20.  He  did  it  for  the  sake  of  my  father  and  /  —  me. 

21.  We  study  Shakespeare  with  her  sister  and  she  —  her, 

22.  She  —  her  and  her  sister  went  to  the  lecture  with  my  sister 
and  /  —  me. 

23.  They  sent  for  she  —  her  and  /  —  me,  not  you  and  he  —  him, 

24.  The  program  was  arranged  by  the  president  and  /  —  me. 


THE  CONJUNCTION  I2i 

25.  They  found  that  his  father  and  he  —  him  had  already  left. 

26.  Mother  is  going  to  buy  a  birthday  present  to-day  for  she  — 
her  and  /  —  me. 

27.  The  play  is  interesting  not  only  to  you  older  people  but  to 
we  —  us  younger  ones  also. 

28.  They  expected  the  work  to  be  done  by  she  —  her  and  I  — 
me. 

29.  The  dispute  between  his  neighbor  and  he  —  him  over  their 
lot  line  was  settled  by  the  surveyors  this  morning. 

30.  He  wants  to  speak  to  you  and  /  —  me. 

Exercise  128  —  Than,  as 

Than  and  as  are  not  prepositions  but  conjunctions.  They 
are  used  to  introduce  subordinate  clauses.  Usually  the 
clause  is  incomplete,  the  omitted  part  being  easily  under- 
stood from  the  preceding  clause,  which  must  be  com- 
pleted to  show  the  case  of  the  noun  or  the  pronoun  that  is 
expressed;  as, 

Right:  She  is  as  tall  as  I  [am]. 

Right:  She  is  taller  than  he  [is]. 

Right :  I  should  invite  you  rather  than  her  [than  I  should  invite 
her]. 

Use  the  correct  one  of  the  italicized  pronouns  in  the  follow- 
ing sentences: 

1.  1^11  agree  that  he  is  richer  than  /  —  njfe^  but  riches  are  not 
everything.  . 

2.  I  shall  send  her  rather  than  tie  —  him. 

3.  No  one  felt  sorrier  than  5/?e  —  ^. 

4.  No  one  knows  more  about  an  automobile  than  he  —  biifL. 

5.  You  are  more  capable  of  doing  the  work  than  he  —Jptm. 

6.  We  were  nearer  the  goal  than  you  or  he  —  h^- 

7.  You  finished  the  work  almost  as  qy,ickly  as  she  — li^eff. 

8.  She  writes  fully  as  well  as  he  —  h^. 

9.  The  manager  said  he  would  rather  send  me  than  Ue  —  him. 

10.  I  secured  a  position  sooner  than  she  — )ter.  ^ 

11.  It  seems  to  me  that  they  ought  to  go  rather  than  we  —  us. 

12.  I  am  surprised  that  you  arrived  sooner  than  they  —  them. 

13.  They  should  have  elected  him  rather  than  /  —  me. 


122  GRAMMAR 

14.  I  am  not  so  well-fitted  as  he  —  him  to  hold  the  position. 

15.  You  are  more  popular  than  he  —  him. 

Exercise  129  —  Correlatives 

There  are  certain  conjunctions,  called  correlatives,  that 
are  used  in  pairs.    They  are 

both  —  and  as  —  as,  so  —  as 

either  —  or  not  only  —  but  also 

neither  —  nor  whether  —  or 

so  —  that  such  —  as 

Illustrations 

Both  —  and  He  has  both  skill  and  energy. 

Either  —  or  I  shall  leave  either  Monday  or  Tuesday. 

Neither  —  nor  I  can  neither  sing  nor  play. 

So  —  that  It  rained  so  hard  that  we  stayed  at  home. 

As  —  as  We  shall  come  as  early  as  we  can. 

So  —  as  She  is  not  so  tall  as  you  are. 

(Used  in  negative  expressions.) 
Not  only  —  but  also     We  saw  not  only  Mr.  Brown  but  his  wife 

also. 
Whether  —  or  Whether  I  return  to  work  or  stay  at 

home  depends  on  my  mother's  health. 
Such  —  as  We  shall  buy  only  such  goods  as  we 

think  we  can  sell. 

Be  very  careful  not  to  use  the  correlative  so  as  incorrectly  for  so  that. 
So  as  is  used  in  negative  expressions  of  comparison;  so  that  is  used 
to  express  result. 

Wrong:  We  went  early  so  as  we  could  get  good  seats. 
Right:  We  went  early  so  that  we  could  get  good  seats. 

In  the  illustrations  given  above,  notice  that  the  correlatives 
always  join  two  similar  or  coordinate  expressions.  It  is 
important  that  they  be  placed  each  immediately  before  one 
of  the  two  coordinate  expressions. 

Wrong :  I  neither  can  sing  nor  play. 
Right:  1  can  neither  sing  nor  play. 


THE  CONJUNCTION  123 

Recast  the  following  sentences,  placing  the  correlative 
conjunctions  before  coordinate  expressions: 

1.  Either  you  ordered  it  late  or  not  at  all. 

2.  He  said  he  neither  had  money  nor  time. 

3.  We  not  only  bought  the  books  you  wished  but  the  games 
also. 

4.  We  like  the  place  in  which  we  live  both  on  account  of  its 
quietness  and  its  pleasant  surroundings. 

5.  I  shall  either  go  to  Quebec  or  Montreal. 

6.  Either  he  must  spray  his  trees  or  expect  no  fruit. 

7.  I  neither  like  the  appearance  of  the  shop  nor  the  attitude 
of  the  clerks. 

8.  They  did  it  both  for  the  sake  of  your  brother  and  you. 

9.  This  sample  not  only  is  much  darker  but  heavier  also. 
10.   They  are  barred  who  neither  can  read  nor  write. 

Exercise  130  —  Either  —  or,  Neither  —  nor 

These  conjunctions  are  correctly  used  in  speaking  of  two 
things  only.  Care  must  be  taken  to  use  or  with  either  and 
nor  with  neither.  In  comparing  three  or  more  things  use 
any  of  them,  none  of  them,  or  'no. 

In  the  following  sentences  use  only  the  correct  italicized 
forms : 


1.  Neither  effort  nor  —  (fr  money  was  spared  in  the  under- 
taking. 

2.  I  have  considered  planting  maple,  oak,  and  elm  trees, 
but  neitfier  —  none  of  them  seems  to  grow  well  in  this  climatey 

3.  We  do  not  believe  in  either  enduring  oppression  rwir  — 
or  killing  the  oppressor.     We  believe  in  arbitration. 

4.  He  has  jio  —  neither  time,  patience,  nor  —  or  energy. 

5.  If  you  4sk  me  Xvhich  of  the  three  I  prefer,  1^11  be  frank 
and  tell  you  I  like  ndther  —  none  of  them. 

6.  Three  courses  will  be  given  in  the  subject  this  year;   you 
may  take  either  —  any  one  of  them. 

7.  I  had  already  passed  three  branch  roads,  but  neither  — 
none  of  them  had  looked  familiar  to  me. 

8.  I  hardly  think  he  accepted  any  —  either  of  the  two  offers 
he  received. 


124  GRAMMAR 

9.  Neither  the  doctor  or  —  nor  his  wife  was  at  home. 
10.  Both  the  books  look  shop-worn.     I'll  take  neither  —  none. 

Exercise  131  — Except,  Without,  Unless 

Except  and  without  are  prepositions,  and  are  used,  there- 
fore, to  introduce  phrases;  unless  is  a  conjunction,  and  is 
used  to  introduce  a  clause. 

In  the  following  sentences  insert  the  correct  form,  giving 
a  reason  for  your  choice: 

I.,  ''"^ —  you  leave  at  once,  you  will  miss  your  train. 

2.  I  cannot  learn  to  swim,  '^^^^ '  some  one  teaches  me. 

3.  I  cannot  learn  to  swim  ^^'■"^'     a  teacher. 

4.  No  one  could  do  the  work  t— ^--  me. 

5.  John  expects  to  learn  t— —  studying. 

6.  John  wiU  discover  that  he  cannot  win  promotion he 

works  hard. 

7.  No  one  can  learn  how  to  spell first  learning  how  to 

observe. 

8.  No  one  will  learn  to  spell he  learns  to  observe. 

9.  No  one  will  succeed he  has  energy  and  patience. 

10.  No  one  will  succeed energy  and  patience. 

11.  You  cannot  succeed  in  any  way by  seizing  each  oppor- 
tunity as  it  comes. 

12.  It  is  impossible  to  grow  beautiful  flowers the  soil  is 

good. 

Exercise  132  —  Like,  as 

Like  is  followed  by  a  noun  or  pronoun  in  the  objective  case. 
As  i^di  conjunction  and  introduces  a  clause,  and  is  therefore 
followed  by  a  verb.  Like  is  not  a  conjunction  and  there- 
fore may  not  be  substituted  for  as  or  as  if. 

Wrong :  I  wish  I  could  play  like  you  can. 
Right:  I  wish  I  could  play  as  you  can. 

Insert  the  correct  word  in  the  following  sentences: 
■  '\  • 

1.  The  picture  looks  just    '       you. 

2.  I  haven't  a  voice  — —  my  brother's. 

3.  I  cannot  sing  -- —  my  brother  can. 


p 


THE  CONJUNCTION  125 

4.  He  walks  just  -i/^  you  do. 

5.  I  hope  you  will  all  enjoy  the  trip  -{/—  I  did.  .X^ 

6.  For  pleasure  and  exercise  I  think  there  is  no  game  ^^-— 
tennis. 

7.  He  said  that  the  town  looked  just  — *^=^  it  had  when  he  was 
a  boy. 

8.  I  cut  the  paper  just  h^  you  said  I  should. 

9.  He  talks  -r*^  his  father. 

10.  He  has  the  same  sort  of  drawl   :''-  '  his  father  [has]. 

11.  She  was  there  Ar—  you  said  she  would  be. 

12.  They  worked  ±—  beavers. 

13.  He  looked -r— a  tramp. 

14.  To  give  the  stitch  the  proper  twist  throw  the  thread  over 
the  needle  -^ —  I  do. 

15.  He  walks  - — —  he  were  lame. 

Exercise  133  —  As  —  as,  So  —  as 

Use  as  —  as  in  stating  equality;  use  so  —  as  in  negative 
comparisons. 

1.  You  will  find  the  new  clerks  fully  — *^-—  courteous  as  were 
the  old. 

2.  You  will  not  find  the  new  clerks  — f^  courteous  as  were  the 
old. 

3.  Elms  do  not  grow  — —  well  in  this  climate  as  do  poplars. 

4.  We  did  not  carry  — ^  much  advertising  this  year  as  we 
did  last  year,  and  we  find  that  our  receipts  are  smaller. 

5.  Under  our  system  of  individual  instruction  a  student  may 
advance  -4-—  rapidly  as  his  ability  permits. 

6.  You  are  not     ';     tall  as  your  sisteir. 

7.  I  do  not  seem  to  learn  languages  -7-^  easily  as  mathematics. 

8.  This  house  is  not  — f^  large  as  the  other. 

9.  He  is    1-'    active  as  he  was  twenty  years  ago. 

10.  He  is  not  -— --  active  as  he  was  twenty  years  ago. 

Exercise  134  —  Miscellaneous  Blunders 
To,  Too,  Two 

To  is  a  preposition;  too  is  an  adverb,  and  means  exces- 
sively  or  also;  two  is  a  numeral  adjective.  Insert  the  correct 
form  in  each  of  the  following  sentences: 


126  GRAMMAR 

1.  The  sisters  discovered  that  it  was late  for  the 

4:15  train. 

2.  It  is dark  in  that  corner;  come the  light. 

3.  He  spends  much  time  in  dreaming,  little  in 

working. 

4.  He  would  have  done  better  if  he  had  not  given little 

heed the  advice  of  his older  brothers. 

5.   more  hours  were  passed  in  the  all weary  task  of 

waiting. 

6.  It  was cold stay  out  more  than hours. 

7.  You  may  go ,  but  don't  stay long. 

8.  stay  there  for week's  would  be tiresome. 

9.  The  doctor  said  that  the men  were sick go 

home  alone,  and  I  thought  so . 

10.  About  hours  ago  I  met  Mary  who  said  that  she  was 

going the  country . 

There,  Their 

11.  are  seven  brothers  in family. 

12.  books  are on  the  table. 

13.  is  no  doubt  that  knowledge  of  mathematics  is 

greater  than knowledge  of  English. 

Were,  Where 

^    14.  have  you  been? 

15.  you  ever  on  a  farm alfalfa  is  grown? 

16. you  when  the  report  was  read? 

17.  I  was  just you , 

Of,  Have 

18.  You  should read  more  distinctly. 

19.  I  could  done  the  work  if  I  had  had  more the 

necessary  tools. 

20.  If  I  had  tried  harder,  I  might done  the  work  better. 


PART  II  — COMPOSITION:  ORAL  AND 
WRITTEN 

CHAPTER  X 
ORAL  ENGLISH 

Exercise  135 

Retell  a  story  that  you  know  or  one  that  the  instructor 
has  read  to  you.  See  if  you  can  tell  the  whole  story  in  fairly 
long  sentences  without  using  a  single  and.  You  will  be 
allowed  to  use  three  and^s.  As  soon  as  you  say  the  third, 
you  must  take  your  seat.    Let  the  class  keep  count. 

The  story  may  be  an  anecdote,  a  fable,  or  any  other  short 
incident  that  can  easily  be  told  in  one  or  two  minutes.  You 
probably  have  read  many  such  or  have  heard  your  father  and 
your  mother  tell  them.  A  joke  that  can  be  told  in  two  or 
three  sentences  will  not  be  long  enough. 

The  excessive  use  of  and  spoils  the  telling  of  many  stories. 
It  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  the  gap  between  the  end  of 
one  sentence  and  the  beginning  of  the  next  appears  as  great 
to  the  listener  as  it  does  to  us  as  we  are  deliberating  what 
to  say  next.  To  avoid  the  gap  we  bridge  the  two  sentences 
with  and.  Its  use  in  this  way  is  hardly  ever  necessary  if  we 
think  out  a  sentence  to  the  end  before  we  begin  to  speak  it. 
When  we  have  finished  the  thought,  we  should  finish  the 
sentence  without  trying  to  bind  it  artificially  to  the  next 
one.  The  sentences  will  be  bound  together  if  the  thought 
of  one  grows  out  of  the  thought  of  the  preceding  one. 

If  the  unfolding  of  the  idea  does  not  seem  sufiicient  to  tie 
the  parts,  there  are  better  expressions  to  use  than  and. 
There  are  short  expressions  like  in  this  way^  likewise^  moreover, 
thuSy  therefore,  besides,  as  might  be  expected,  and  too.    Another 


128 


COMPOSITION 


way  to  avoid  and  is  to  change  the  form  of  the  sentence: 
(i)  Better  than  the  form,  *'I  opened  the  window  and  saw,^ 
is,  '^Opening  the  window,  I  saw;"  (2)  Better  than  "I  am 
going  to  the  store  and  buy  some  sugar,''  is,  "I  am  going  to 
the  store  to  buy  some  sugar;''  (3)  Better  than  *' There  was 
a  boy  and  his  name  was  John, "  is,  "There  was  a  boy  whose 
name  was  John;"  (4)  Better  than  "I  reached  home  and 
found  that  my  cousin  had  arrived,"  is,  ^'When  I  reached 
home,  I  found  that  my  cousin  had  arrived."  In  place  of 
and  J  therefore,  we  may  use  (i)  participles,  (2)  infinitives, 
(3)  relative  pronouns,  and  (4)  subordinate  conjunctions. 

Above  all,  avoid  and  everything^  as  in,  "I  washed  the 
dishes  and  swept  the  floor  and  everything."  To  try  thus  to 
complete  an  idea  that  is  already  complete  shows  childishness. 

Exercise  136 

Very  likely  in  telling  the  story  as  suggested  above  you 
found  yourself  frequently  using  the  word  so  to  connect  two 
sentences.    Perhaps,  too,  you  used  why  to  begin  sentences. 

Now  tell  one  of  your  own  experiences,  being  careful  not 
to  use  and,  so,  or  why.  Introduce  as  much  conversation  as 
possible.  What,  if  any,  is  the  advantage  of  telling  a  story 
in  the  first  person?   Why  is  it  good  to  introduce  conversation? 

In  your  conversation  make  use  of  several  of  the  following 
words: 


replied 

answered 

asked 

whispered 

agreed 

exclaimed 

spoke 

cried 

shouted 

inquired 

explained 

remarked 

questioned 

promised 

interrupted 

repeated 

maintained 

quoted 

continued 

objected 

returned 

suggested 

rejoined 

added 

Exercise  137 

Far  too  many  boys  and  girls  pay  but  little  regard  to 
the  matter  of  choosing  the  word  that  will  give  the  exact 


r 


ORAL    ENGLISH  129 


meaning  that  they  wish  to  convey,  and  in  order  to  lend 
force  to  their  words  they  have  formed  the  habit  of  speak- 
ing in  superlatives,  like  the  girl  who  said,  "We  had  a  per- 
fectly grand  time,  but  I'm  so  beastly  tired  now  that  I'm 
nearly  dead,"  and  yet  she  showed  no  evidence  of  suffering. 
Isn't  it  a  pity  that  our  beautiful  English  language  should 
be  so  degraded  in  common  usage  that  it  loses  all  its  force 
and  meaning?  Instead  of  convincing  people  that  she  really 
was  tired,  the  girl  quoted  above  made  herself  ridiculous  by 
her  exaggeration.  Yet  isn't  the  quotation  a  fair  example  of 
the  speech  of  many  boys  and  girls?  Surely  everything 
about  us  is  not  either  grand  or  beastly.  The  habit  thus 
formed  is  difficult  to  break,  but  it  must  be  broken  if  we  wish 
to  speak  our  language  correctly.   • 

Make  a  list  of  the  slang  phrases  that  you  have  acquired. 
For  each  one  substitute  a  good  English  expression. 

The  reason  we  must  watch  our  oral  English  closely  is  that 
it  is  in  our  conversation  that  our  habits  of  speech  are  formed. 
The  expressions  we  use  then  we  unconsciously  employ  when 
we  are  writing  or  talking  to  the  class.  If  we  are  accustomed 
to  use  considerable  slang  when  we  speak,  we  shall  have 
difficulty  in  eliminating  it  from  our  writing  or  in  finding  a 
good  word  to  express  the  idea  for  which  we  usually  use  slang. 
As  a  rule,  slang  and  extravagant  expressions  of  all  kinds  are 
used  to  serve  such  a  variety  of  meanings  that  the  use  of  them 
tends  to  limit  the  vocabulary  to  these  expressions.  Consider 
slang  something  undesirable  and  stop  using  it. 

Exercise  138 

Look  up  the  words  in  each  of  the  following  groups.  You 
will  notice  that  there  is  a  resemblance  of  meaning  between 
all  the  words  of  each  group,  but  that  there  is  also  a  shade  of 
difference  in  meaning  that  distinguishes  each  word  from  its 


I30  COMPOSITION 

companions.     Discover  that  shade  of  difference.     Use  each 
word  in  a  sentence. 

1.  Lovely,  beautiful,  pretty,  handsome. 

2.  Awful,  terrible,  horrible,  dreadful,  fearful. 

3.  Nice,  pleasant,  delightful,  dainty,  fine,  agreeable. 

4.  Grand,  imposing,  splendid,  impressive. 

5.  Love,  like,  adore,  admire,  revere. 

6.  Smart,  clever,  bright,  quick-witted. 

7.  Fierce,  ferocious,  wild. 

8.  Guess,  think,  suppose,  imagine. 

9.  Hate,  dislike,  despise,  abhor,  detest. 
10.  Scholar,  student,  pupil. 

Exercise  139  ^ 

Carelessness  in  speaking  frequently  results  in  wordiness, 
since  the  speaker  in  an  effort  to  be  clear  or  forceful  repeats 
the  idea  two  or  three  times.  Such  speech  is  tiresome.  In 
each  of  the  following  sentences  there  are  too  many  words  to 
express  the  idea.  See  how  many  you  can  omit  and  yet  pre- 
serve the  meaning.     Sometimes  the  sentence  needs  revision. 

1.  I  haven't  got  any  time. 

2.  Where  does  he  live  at? 

3.  Don't  stand  up;  there's  a  chair. 

4.  The  woman  she  had  an  accident. 

5.  You  had  ought  to  take  more  exercise. 

6.  I  was  just  going  to  go. 

7.  I  excuse  you  because  you  are  a  new  beginner. 

8.  I  can  finish  the  work  in  three  days'  time. 

9.  The  offices  are  both  alike  in  all  respects. 

10.  He  engaged  the  both  of  us. 

11.  We  applied  to  Mr.  Abbot,  he  being  the  manager. 

12.  My  mind  often  reverts  b*ck  to  the  time  when  I  began  in 
business. 

13.  That  hi^  building  that-ts  going  up  on  Twelfth  Street  is 
going  to  be  twenty  stories  high  when  it  is  finished. 

14.  From  his  appearance  he  looked  to  be  in  very  poor  cir- 
cumstances. 

15.  He  is  afraid  of  the  results  that  will  ensue  if  he  follows  the 
course  that  he  has  planned. 


ORAL    ENGLISH 


131 


16.  The  present  state  of  affairsj^that  is  now  confronting  the 
public  \has  become  what  it  -now  is  because  the  citizens  are  not 
public  spirited.  * 

17.  The  reason  why  I  was  not  at  work  yesterday  was  because 
I  was  not  feeling  as  well  as  I  might.  .4 

18.  I  shall  never  forget  the  terrible  sights  •thaH[~-saw  the  time 
-that  I  witncssedjjthe  street  car  collision. 

19.  I  have  been  debating  in  my  mind  whether  I  ought  to  accept 
the  offer. 

20.  He  was  a  mere  Httfe*  child  when  he  first  began  to  work 
in  the  mine. 

21.  Mix  together  betfe  the  butter  and  the  sugar,  and  rub  the 
t-wo-of  them  to  a  cream. 

22.  The  two  pieces  of  cloth  are  j«9t-exaetly  the  same  in  every 
way. 

2$.  You  will  find  this  chair  equally  as  comfortable  as  the 
other. 

24.  He  said  that  when  he  started  in  his  business  tks^  he  had 
almost  no  capijtal  at  all.  .;     , 

25.  It  was"?&e  office  of  Morgan  &  Son  where  I  got  my 
experience. 

26.  China  is  undergoing  a  vast  change,  at  the  present  time. 

27.  At  about  the  age  of  fourteen ^^ears  he  left  his  home  town. 
-    23.   They  did  it  gladly,  and  willingly. 

29.  He  always  shows  great  deference  and  respect  when  he 
speaks  to  those  w4icuare  in  authority. 

30.  He  is  the  proprietor  and~ewner-of  the  News. 

31.  You  can  easily  get  the  training  that  will  make  you  a  com- 
petent and.  efficieftt  higtpsaiaried-^ained  man. 

32.  For  sale,  a  large,  eommedieus.  house,  arranged  with  every 
convenience^  to,  make  it-  -comfortable. 

SS.  We  are  making  all  the  necessary  improvements  (:hat  are 
needed. 

34.   I  went  to  high  school  to  take  u^stenography. 

Exercise  140  —  Making  a  Speech 

One  of  the  most  profitable  exercises  to  cultivate  clear 
thinking  and  consequent  clear  expression  is  the  making  of 
speeches,  usually  spoken  of  as  oral  themes.  In  this  exer- 
cise a  pupil  stands  before  the  class  to  talk  upon  a  subject 


132  COMPOSITION 

about  which  he  has  thought,  but  upon  which  he  has  written 
nothing.  He  has  two  objects  in  view.  First,  he  must 
choose  those  facts  that  will  make  his  subject  clear  and  inter- 
esting to  his  audience.  Second,  he  must  deliver  them  well; 
that  is,  he  must  stand  in  a  good  position  before  the  class, 
use  good  grammar,  no  slang,  and  enunciate  so  that  every 
one  in  the  room  can  understand  him.  If  his  speech  is  to  be 
longer  than  one  paragraph,  he  should  have  an  outline  pre- 
pared, in  which  each  division  is  clearly  indicated,  as  well 
as  the  important  details  within  each  division. 

In  making  a  speech,  the  best  way  is  to  start  with  a  clear 
statement  of  the  subject.  Suppose  you  take  (9)  below. 
You  might  begin,  "I  am  going  to  talk  of  a  street  car  transfer. 
First,  I  shall  tell  you  how  it  looks;  and  second,  how  it  is 
used.  Then  first,  a  street  car  transfer  —  (describe  it  fully). 
In  the  second  place,  it  is  used  —  (give  details)."  After  you 
have  explained  fully,  to  show  that  you  have  said  all  you 
intend  to  say,  finish  with  a  sentence  of  conclusion.  There- 
fore, consequently,  for  these  reasons,  thus  we  may  see,  are 
instances  of  words  which  may  be  used  to  begin  a  sentence 
of  conclusion. 

Use  each  of  the  following  questions  as  the  subject  for  a 
speech.  Answer  each  question  clearly  and  completely.  Use 
illustrations  to  show  exactly  what  you  mean. 

I.  What  does  it  mean  to  be  a  hero? 

^•'-   2.  What  does  it  mean  to  be  successful? 

3.  What  does  it  mean  to  be  unfortunate? 

4.  What  does  it  mean  to  be  generous? 

5.  What  does  it  mean  to  be  lenient? 

6.  What  does  it  mean  to  be  mercenary? 

7.  What  does  it  mean  to  be  difi&dent? 

8.  What  does  it  mean  to  be  penurious? 

9.  What  is  a  street  car  transfer?    How  does  it  look  and  how 
is  it  used? 

10.  What  occupation  do  you  wish  to  follow,  and  why?  What 
preparations  are  you  making? 


ORAL    ENGLISH  133 

11.  Why  do  we  have  a  smoke  ordinance? 

12.  Why  must  buildings  have  fire  escapes? 

13.  Why  do  the  farmers  of  Kansas  insure  their  barns  against 
cyclones? 

14.  What  is  fire  insurance? 

15.  Why  is  ventilation  important? 

^^^16.  Why  do  so  many  immigrants  come  to  this  country? 

17.  Why  do  cities  grow? 

18.  Why  was  the  steam  engine  an  important  invention? 

19.  Why  was  the  telephone  an  important  invention? 

20.  What  is  the  principle  of  vaccination? 

21.  What  is  the  principle  of  anti-toxin? 

22.  Of  what  good  is  the  trade  union  to  the  laborer? 
'    23.  Why  does  the  employer  object  to  the  union? 

24.  What  is  a  monopoly? 

25.  What  is  meant  by  a  corner  in  wheat? 


Exercise  141 

In  your  neighborhood  you  have  frequently  noticed  a  lawn 
and  a  garden  that  are  very  poorly  kept,  the  garden  needing 
weeding  and^the  lawn  both  weeding  and  mowing.  Imagine 
that  you  go  to  the  owner  to  make  him  a  proposition.  You 
know  the  man  slightly,  and  you  have  heard  that  he  has  a 
quick  temper.  Know  exactly  what  work  you  will  offer  to 
do  and  how  often  you  will  do  it.  Be  careful  of  your  first 
sentences.  Let  them  be  especially  courteous,  so  that  you 
may  not  offend  the  gentleman  by  suggesting  that  he  does 
not  take  care  of  his  property.  Tell  him  frankly  that  you 
would  like  to  earn  some  money. 

In  this  exercise  the  class  will  represent  the  owner.  More- 
over, they  will  watch  carefully  so  that  they  may  point  out 
to  the  speaker  wherein  his  speech  was  not  quite  courteous 
or  not  quite  clear. 

Exercise  142 

From  one  of  the  newspapers  cut  an  advertisement  of  a 
position  for  which  you  think  you  can  apply.     Bring  the 


134  COMPOSITION 

advertisement  with  you  and  convince  the  class  that  you 
are  fitted  for  the  position. 

In  this  exercise  you  must  be  exact.  Choose  an  advertise- 
ment for  a  kind  of  work  about  which  you  know  something. 
If  you  have  ever  had  any  experience  that  would  fit  you  for 
the  position,  do  not  fail  to  tell  of  it,  since  experience  counts 
for  much  in  the  employer's  estimate  of  an  applicant. 

Let  the  class  judge  whether  the  speaker  has  been  con- 
vincing and  whether  he  has  shown  the  properly  courteous 
attitude  toward  an  employer.  Let  them  ask  themselves 
such  questions  as :  Is  he  alert  in  his  manner?  Does  he  make 
one  feel  that  he  is  capable?  Does  he  stand  and  talk  as  if 
he  has  confidence  in  himself?  Is  he  too  meek?  Does  he 
seem  over-confident?  Let  each  be  able  to  offer  suggestions 
for  improvement. 

Exercise  143 

Imagine  that  you  are  an  agent.  Choose  an  article  that  is 
especially  useful  to  housekeepers.  Try  to  sell  it  to  the  class, 
or  choose  an  individual  member  to  whom  you  wish  to  sell 
it.  Bring  a  sample  with  you  for  the  purpose  of  demonstrat- 
ing its  usefulness. 

As  in  the  preceding  exercise  the  speaker  must  strive  to 
be  convincing.  He  must  know  all  there  is  to  be  known  about 
the  article  that  he  is  demonstrating.  If  it  is  at  all  possible, 
he  should  have  used  it  in  order  that  he  may  explain  exactly 
how  it  is  operated  and  why  it  is  better  than  a  similar  article 
that  the  housekeeper  probably  is  at  present  using. 

Exercise  144 

You  wish  to  start  a  business  and  need  a  certain  amount  of 
money.  Try  to  convince  the  instructor  or  a  selected  pupil 
that  you  need  it. 

Be  sure  that  you  are  able  to  tell  definitely  the  kind  of  busi- 
ness for  which  you  wish  the  money,  where  you  will  start  the 


ORAL    ENGLISH  135 

business,  why  you  think  that  this  particular  location  is  good, 
when  you  will  be  able  to  return  the  money,  and  what  security 
you  can  give. 

Don't  make  the  mistake  of  choosing  something  too  big 
for  a  boy  or  a  girl  to  carry  through.  Perhaps  the  following 
will  be  suggestive: 

--    I.  A  newspaper  stand. 

2.  A  miniature  truck  farm  in  the  empty  lot  next  door. 

3.  A  pop  corn  wagon. 

4.  A  fruit  cart  or  stand. 

5.  A  shoe  shining  stand. 

6.  Raising  ferns  or  flowers  for  sale. 

7.  Buying  vegetables  from  a  farmer  and  selling  them  to  house- 
wives. 

8.  Printing  business  cards  and  blotters  on  a  small  press. 

9.  Making  place  cards. 

10.  Making  valentines. 

11.  Painting  holiday  postal  cards  or  fancy  cards  for  Christmas, 
Easter,  Thanksgiving,  and  the  like. 

12.  Printing  on  postal  cards  pretty  scenes  that  you  have 
photographed  perhaps  in  your  town  or  at  a  summer  resort. 

13.  Making  and  selling  cakes,  doughnuts,  and  the  like. 

14.  Selling  crocheted  or  embroidered  articles. 

Exercise  145  —  Elements  of  Success 

Prepare  a  short  speech  on  each  of  the  following.  Wher- 
ever possible  make  your  statements  clear  and  forceful  by 
using  illustrations  or  examples. 

1.  Cheerfulness  helps  to  bring  success. 

2.  The  habit  of  neatness  is  an  asset. 

3.  The  habit  of  punctuality  is  a  necessity. 

4.  He  was  not  promoted  because  he  watched  the  clock. 

5.  He  was  not  promoted  because  his  excuse  was  always,  "I 
forgot.'' 

6.  He  was  not  promoted  because  he  learned  nothing  from  his 
mistakes. 

7.  He  was  not  promoted  because  he  was  always  grumbling. 

8.  He  was  not  promoted  because  he  was  content  to  be  a 
second-rate  man. 


136  COMPOSITION 

9.  He  was  not  promoted  because  he  ruined  his  ability  by 
half-doing  things. 

10.  He  was  not  promoted  because  he  did  not  learn  to  act  on 
his  own  judgment. 

11.  One  to-day  is  worth  two  to-morrows. 

12.  Experience  is  an  expensive  teacher. 

13.  Be  not  simply  good  —  be  good  for  something. 

14.  Not  failure,  but  low  aim,  is  crime. 

15.  To  be  successful  one  must  have  confidence  in  himself. 

Exercise  146 

As  in  the  preceding  exercise  prepare  a  speech  on  each  of 
the  following: 

1.  A  dishonest  person  cannot  succeed. 

2.  There  is  no  excuse  for  discouragement. 

3.  You  may  secure  a  position  through  another's  influence, 
but  you  keep  it  through  your  own  merit. 

4.  There  is  always  room  at  the  top. 

5.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  luck. 

6.  The  proper  attitude  toward  an  employer  is  one  of  deference. 

7.  A  business  woman  should  dress  simply. 

8.  Perseverance  is  the  key  to  success. 

9.  To  accomplish  much  one  must  work  systematically. 

10.  It  is  possible  to  cultivate  a  good  memory. 

11.  The  ability  to  converse  is  a  business  asset. 

12.  The  habit  of  exaggeration  is  dangerous. 

Exercise  147  —  Successful  Men  and  Women 

How  can  one  measure  the  success  of  men  or  women? 
Is  it  by  the  money  they  make?  the  land  they  acquire?  the 
fame  they  win?  the  good  they  do?  By  what  means  have 
they  won  success?  Was  it  through  favorable  circumstances? 
strength  of  character?  favoritism?  physical  strength?  mental 
energy?  daring?  doing  what  they  thought  was  right  in  spite 
of  opposition?  or  simply  doing  nothing  and  waiting  for 
success  to  come? 

Study  the  life  and  character  of  one  or  more  of  the  following. 
Are  they  or  have  they  been  successful?    What  qualities  of 


ORAL    ENGLISH  137 

character  do  you  recognize  in  them?  Would  you  care  to 
be  like  any  of  them? 

Make  a  list  of  the  habits  that  you  recognize  in  their  life 
and  in  the  way  they  worked. 

Make  a  list  of  the  characteristics  of  the  ones  that  you  study. 

Florence  Nightingale  Frances  Willard  Bismarck 

David  May  dole  Ella  Flagg  Young  Gladstone 

R.  L.  Stevenson  Helen  Gould  Shepard  Marshall  Field 

Booker  T.  Washington  Jane  Addams  Carnegie 

Captain  Scott  Napoleon  J.  Pierpont  Morgan 

Mary  Antin  Franklin  Edison 

Daniel  Boone  Lincoln  Roosevelt 

Mary  Lyon  Nathan  Hale  Goethals 

Exercise  148  —  Debating 

A  very  great  asset  in  business  is  the  ability  to  see  the 
truth  or  the  falsity  of  a  statement,  and  to  advance  proofs 
for  or  against  it.  This  ability  we  shall  try  to  acquire  through 
the  practice  of  debating;  that  is,  through  the  making  of 
speeches  in  which  students  take  opposite  sides  of  the  same 
subject,  trying  by  the  presentation  of  facts  and  illustrations 
to  prove  that  the  side  which  they  represent  is  the  correct 
one.     The  statement  that  is  thus  argued  is  called  a  proposition. 

Debating  is  excellent  practice,  as  it  teaches  not  only  clear- 
cut  reasoning,  but  forceful  expression.  When  a  debater 
gives  several  arguments,  if  he  fails  to  make  them  convincing, 
if  he  introduces  irrelevant  matter,  or,  though  he  has  pre- 
pared strong  proofs,  if  he  expresses  them  in  incorrect  English, 
the  result  will  be  poor.  In  working  out  a  debate,  therefore, 
observe  the  following  carefully: 

1.  Know  your  subject  thoroughly.  If  you  have  insuffi- 
cient knowledge,  you  cannot  be  convincing. 

2.  Understand  your  point  of  view  exactly  and  explain  it 
clearly.  If  you  and  your  opponent  have  different  ideas  of 
the  word  trusty  for   example,  you  can   never  argue  on  a 


138  COMPOSITION 

subject  that  concerns  the  trusts.     Define  your  position  first 
of  all. 

3.  After  you  have  gathered  your  facts,  study  them  as  a 
whole.  What  three  arguments,  let  us  say,  stand  out  clearly 
in  your  mind  as  being  irrefutable  because  of  the  strong 
proofs  you  have  to  back  them?  These  are  the  ones  that  you 
should  use;  the  rest  will  probably  be  of  little  value.  Plan 
to  give  the  weakest  of  the  three  first,  so  that  your  argument 
will  gain  force  as  you  advance. 

4.  Work  out  the  details  of  each  argument.  A  mere  state- 
ment of  each  is  not  enough.  It  must  be  supported  by  many 
facts  and  illustrations. 

5.  Prepare  an  outline.  It  will  show  you  whether  your 
arguments  follow  each  other  clearly,  whether  you  have  so 
arranged  them  as  to  secure  climax.     (See  Exercise  152.) 

6.  In  talking,  follow  the  plan  explained  in  Exercise  140, 
being  especially  careful  in  conclusion  to  summarize  the 
proofs  that  you  have  presented. 

The  conclusions  that  you  reach  in  your  arguments  must 
be  based  upon  statements  that  are  true.  In  the  following, 
some  of  the  statements  are  false,  and  therefore  the  con- 
clusion that  is  based  upon  them  is  false.  Point  out  wherein 
the  falsity  consists.  In  others  of  the  following,  irrelevant 
matter  has  been  introduced.  Point  it  out,  explaining  why 
it  is  irrelevant. 

1.  We  shall  forget  a  great  many  facts  that  we  learn  at  school. 
Therefore  it  is  useless  to  learn  them. 

2.  Oil  should  be  used  instead  of  water  in  sprinkling  our 
streets,  because  oil  does  not  evaporate  so  quickly  as  water,  and 
so  does  not  allow  the  dust  to  rise.  Moreover,  as  the  street  must 
be  cleaned  before  the  oil  is  laid,  there  is  less  dust  to  rise.  When 
the  oil  lies  on  the  streets,  it  is  very  sticky,  and  clings  to  every- 
one's shoes.  In  this  way  it  is  tracked  into  the  houses  and  stores, 
making  everything  dirty.  Therefore  I  think  the  streets  should 
be  oiled  instead  of  being  watered. 


ORAL    ENGLISH  139 

3.  Half  of  the  keys  would  not  work  on  the  typewriter  that  I 
used  yesterday.  This  machine  will  work  no  better,  as  it  is  made 
by  the  same  company. 

4.  Last  year  September  was  very  warm,  and  the  winter  was 
extreme.  This  year  September  has  been  very  warm,  and  there- 
fore the  winter  will  be  extreme. 

5.  My  cousin  never  went  to  high  school,  and  when  he  went 
to  work  he  earned  eight  dollars  a  week.  I  have  gone  to  high 
school  for  one  year.  Therefore  I  shall  receive  more  than  eight 
dollars  a  week  when  I  go  to  work. 

6.  When  you  are  working,  your  employer  will  never  ask  you 
the  definition  of  a  noun.  Therefore  it  is  unnecessary  to  know 
any  grammar. 

7.  Every  one  should  be  punctual  in  doing  his  work.  If  he  is 
punctual,  he  will  be  promoted  and  earn  a  larger  salary.  Money 
is  a  very  important  item  in  this  world,  but  it  is  not  everything. 
A  person  must  be  satisfied  with  his  work  so  that  he  can  do  it 
cheerfully;  otherwise  he  will  not  succeed.  Therefore  I  think 
every  one  ought  to  be  on  time. 

8.  The  day  is  either  sunny  or  it  is  not  sunny.  To-day  is  not 
sunny;    therefore  it  is  sunny. 

9.  It  always  rains  when  I  wear  new  shoes.  I  am  wearing  new 
shoes;   therefore  it  wiU  rain  to-day. 

Exercise  149 

Find  three  reasons  for  each  of  the  following  propositions. 
State  them  concisely,  reserving  the  strongest  for  the  last. 

As  above,  find  three  reasons  against  each  of  the  following. 

Expand  one  of  the  reasons  that  you  advanced  for  one  of 
the  propositions  given  below.  Using  your  statement  as 
the  opening  sentence,  develop  it  into  a  paragraph  by  expla- 
nations and  illustrations. 

1.  The  high  school  should    have    the  same  session  as  the 
grades. 

2.  The  high  school  session  should  begin  at  eight  o^clock  and 
close  at  one,  with  no  recess  for  luncheon. 

3.  Final  examinations  shall  be  abolished. 

4.  Every  high  school  should  teach  manual  training. 

5.  Every  high  school  should  offer  business  courses. 


I40  COMPOSITION 

6.  Every  high  school  pupil  should  receive  a  business  training. 

7.  Stenography  (or  bookkeeping)  is  a  more  important  study 
than  wood-working. 

8.  If  a  pupil  fails  in  the  first  semester  of  a  subject,  he  should 
be  allowed  to  try  the  second  without  repeating  the  first. 

9.  A  pupil  should  not  be  expected  to  learn  a  lesson  that  he 
does  not  enjoy. 

10.   Moving  picture  shows  do  more  harm  than  good. 

Exercise  150 

Let  three  or  four  pupils  write  upon  the  blackboard  three 
arguments  in  support  of  the  same  one  of  the  following  propo- 
sitions. Then  let  the  class  choose  from  all  the  arguments 
given  those  three  or  four  that  they  think  are  best,  giving  in 
each  case  reasons  for  their  choice. 

In  the  same  way  let  them  work  out  the  negative  of  the 
same  proposition. 

1.  Every  city  should  have  a  public  park  in  the  business 
district. 

2.  The  large    department    stores    should  be  abolished  and 
smaller  stores,  selling  only  one  kind  of  commodity,  established. 

3.  The  mail  order  house  should  be  abolished. 

4.  It  is  bad  business  policy  to  conduct  cut-price  sales. 

5.  The  newspapers  are  the  greatest  educators  of  the  time. 

6.  Billboard  advertisements  destroy  the  beauty  of  a  city. 

7.  Women  should  be  allowed  to  vote. 

8.  Labor  unions  are  a  benefit  to  the  public. 

9.  All  government  should  be  conducted  on  the  civil  service 
plan. 

10.  Underselling  a  competitor  ruins  trade. 

Exercise  151 

One  or  two  weeks  in  advance  let  the  class  choose  three 
members  for  each  side  of  one  of  the  following  propositions. 
On  the  day  of  the  debate  let  the  rest  of  the  class  act  as  judges 
to  decide  which  side  has  presented  the  most  convincing  argu- 
ments in  the  best  English. 


ORAL    ENGLISH  141 

1.  It  is  better  to  be  a  farm  hand  than  a  factory  employee. 

2.  Every  girl  should  prepare  herself  to  earn  her  own  living. 

3.  Trusts  should  be  regulated,  not  abolished. 

4.  Strikes  should  be  considered  illegal. 

5.  Advertising  has  increased  the  cost  of  Hving.    (See  Exercise 
152.) 

6.  Communism  would  lower  the  cost  of  living. 

7.  The  business  of  a  city  should  not  be  centralized. 

8.  Labor  troubles  are  brought  about  because  the  poor  ape  the 
rich. 

9.  Contentment  is  better  than  wealth. 
10.   Tariff  increases  the  cost  of  living. 

Exercise  152  —Outline  for  a  Debate 

Choose  two  or  four  members  of  the  class  to  develop  each 
side  of  the  following  debate.  Wherever  possible,  definite 
figures  should  be  used. 

Resolved,  That  Advertising  has  Increased  the  Cost  of 
Living. 

Affirmative 

I.  Modern  advertising  is  world-wide  in  extent. 

{a)  Practically  all  classes  of  articles  are  now  extensively 
advertised, 
(i)  Food  stuffs;  e.g.,  breakfast  foods. 

(2)  Clothing;  e.g.,  men's  suits. 

(3)  Luxuries;  e.g.,  automobiles. 

(4)  Investments;  e.g.,  real  estate. 
(&)  Every  possible  medium  is  used. 

(i)  Newspapers. 

(2)  Magazines. 

(3)  Billboards  and  street  cars. 

(4)  Circulars  and  booklets. 

II.  An  enormous  amount  of  money  is  spent  in  advertising, 
(a)  The   use   of   advertising   agencies   is   growing   more 

widespread, 
(i)  One  agency  has  made  the  statement  that  it  has  nine 
men  whose  salaries  amount  to  $227,000  annually. 
Qt)  More  and  more  companies  are  engaging  advertising 
managers. 


142  COMPOSITION 

(i)  They  draw  large  salaries. 

(x)  In  many  cases,  $10,000  annually. 

(c)  Advertising  rates  are  very  high;  for  example, 

(i)  The  rate  for  a  certain  magazine  is  $1000  a  page 

per  issue. 
(2)  Metropolitan  newspapers  charge  as  high  a  rate 

as  $500  a  page  per  issue. 

(d)  Many  advertisers  use  each  issue  of  a  number  of  me- 

diums, making  the  cost  run  to  an  enormous  total; 
for  example, 
(i)  Cream  of  Wheat  is  advertised  in  every  issue  of 
almost  every  magazine. 

III.  The  consumer  pays  for  the  advertising. 

(a)  The  price  that  the  consumer  pays  for  an  article  must 
cover  the  cost  of  production  and   the  expense  of 
distribution,  leaving  fair  margins  of  profit,  since 
(i)  The  manufacturer  will  no  longer  produce  if  his 
profit  ceases. 

(2)  He  is  not  willing  to  take  the  cost  of  advertising 
from  his  profit  in  manufacturing. 

(3)  The  dealer  will  not  take  the  advertising  cost  from 
his  own  profit. 

IV.  Advertising  increases  prices. 

(a)  The  cost  of  manufacture  and  the  expense  of  distribu- 

tion have  been  steadily  lowered,  and  yet  prices  of 
articles  have  steadily  advanced;  therefore 

(i)  The  rise  is  not  due  to  the  cost  of  manufacture. 

(2)  Nor  to  the  expense  of  distribution. 

(b)  Competition    necessitates    an    increased    amount    of 

advertising, 
(i)  If  one  firm  begins  to  advertise,  its  competitors, 
for  self-protection,  must  follow  suit. 

(c)  Competitive   advertising   raises   expenses   above   the 

point  where  there  is  a  fair  profit  at  the  old  price, 
(i)  For  a  given  kind  of  goods  there  is  usually  a  certain 

volume  of  business,  which  grows  with  population. 
(2)  If  all  the  firms  competing  in  those  goods  increase 

their    expenses    by    advertising,    they    must    raise 

prices  to  make  the  same  profit  as  previously. 

(d)  Advertised  articles  cost  more  than  the  unadvertised. 
(i)  Bulk  rolled  oats  vs.  package  rolled  oats. 

(2)  Bulk  pickles  and  relishes  vs.  advertised  brands. 

(3)  Bulk  macaroni  vs.  package  goods. 


ORAL    ENGLISH  143 

Negative 

I.  The  present  increased  advertising  is  the  result  of  normal 
growth. 

(a)  Multiplied  manufactures  necessarily  multiply  adver- 
tisements. 

(i)  Every  day  new  products  are  being  put  on  the 
market. 

(2)  No  product  has  the  chance  of  a  sale  until  it  is 
known. 

(3)  In  the  present  scope  of  community  life  the  adver- 
tisement is  the  most  convenient  means  of  acquainting 
consumers  with  new  products. 

(b)  Any  unusual  increase  in  advertising  has  a  reasonable 

explanation, 
(i)  Automobile  advertising  has  increased  as  the  auto- 
mobile has  replaced  the  wagon  and  carriage,  because 
of 
(x)  Greater  convenience. 
(y)  Lower  operating  cost. 
(2)  Prepared  breakfast  food  advertising  has  increased 
as  these  foods  have  replaced  cooked  foods,  because  of 
(x)  Greater  convenience. 
II.   Increased  advertising  is  done  on  the  scale  of  old  prices. 

(a)  Merchants  dare  not  raise  prices  to  make  the  con- 
sumer pay  for  the  advertising,  since 

(i)  They  must  compete  with  manufacturers  who  do 
not  advertise  and  who  have  no  overhead  advertising 
expense. 

(b)  The  most  widely  advertised  articles  are  the  inex- 

pensive necessary  accessories, 
(i)  Food  products. 

(2)  Soaps  and  soap  powders. 

(3)  Toilet  articles. 

(c)  They  have  not  advanced  in  price, 
(i)  Quaker  Oats. 

(2)  Ivory  Soap;  Sapolio. 

(3)  Mennen's  Talcum  Powder. 

III.   Widespread  advertising  works  to  the  advantage,  not  the 
disadvantage,  of  the  consumer. 
(a)  It  gives  new  opportunities 
(i)  To  compare  values. 


144  COMPOSITION 

(2)  To  buy  to  the  best  advantage;  for  example, 
(x)  In  advertised  bargain  sales. 
(b)  It  reduces  the  cost  of  production  and  the  selling  ex- 
pense, thus  tending  to  lower  the  price, 
(i)  By  increasing  sales,  it  reduces  the  cost  per  article. 
(x)  Maximum  purchasing  power  means  minimum 
cost  to  the  manufacturer. 

(2)  In  taking  the  place  of  salesmen,  it  reduces  expenses, 
thus  lowering  the  price;  for  example, 

(x)  In  man  order  firms. 

(3)  Therefore  the  advertising  expense  is  unimportant 
in  influencing  a  higher  price. 

IV.   The  most  marked  price  advances  have  been  in  the  unad- 
vertised  necessaries  of  life. 

(a)  In  breadstuffs. 

(i)  Less  in  quantity  for  higher  prices  than  formerly. 

(b)  In  meats  and  poultry. 

(i)  An  advance  of  from  25  per  cent  to  icx^  per  cent  and 
more. 

(c)  In  butter  and  eggs. 

(i)  An  advance  similar  to  that  shown  in  meats  and 
poultry. 

Exercise  153— Additional  Subjects  for  Debates 

1.  The  wages  of  women  should  be  the  same  as  those  of  men  in 
the  same  occupation. 

2.  The  government  should  grant  old  age  pensions. 

3.  Employers  should  be  liable  for  the  life  and  health  of  em- 
ployees. 

4.  The  boycott  is  a  legitimate  method  of  obtaining  employees' 
demands. 

5.  National  expositions  do  not  benefit  the  cities  in  which 
they  are  held. 

6.  Railroad  combination  lowers  rates. 

7.  Piece-work  should  be  prohibited  by  law. 

8.  National  party  lines  should  be  discarded  in  municipal 
elections. 

9.  City  governments  should  be  allowed  to  decide  their  prob- 
lems without  intervention  of  the  state  legislature. 

10.  Municipal  offices  should  be  appointive  and  not  elective. 

1 1 .  The  commission  form  of  government  is  best  for  large  cities. 


ORAL    ENGLISH  145 

12.  Immigration  is  the  cause  of  municipal  evils. 

13.  A  personal  property  tax  cannot  be  levied  with  fairness. 

14.  The  United  States  should  not  further  extend  its  colonial 
dependencies. 

15.  The  President  should  be  elected  by  a  direct  vote  of  the 
people. 

16.  Ex-presidents  of   the  United  States  should   become   life 
members  of  the  Senate. 

17.  The  President  and  the  Vice-President  should  be  prohibited 
from  taking  part  in  political  campaigns. 

18.  The  United  States  should  subsidize  a  merchant  marine. 

19.  Foreign-built  ships,  owned  by  Americans,  should  be  granted 
the  privilege  of  American  register. 

20.  The  governors  of  states  should  not  have  the  power  to  pardon. 

21.  A  three-fourths  vote  of  a  jury  should  be  sufficient  to  render 
a  verdict  in  criminal  cases. 

22.  The  coast  defenses  of  the  United  States  should  be  increased. 

23.  The  farmer  is  to  blame  for  the  high  prices. 

*  24.  The  results  of  Arctic  explorations  have  not  justified  the  cost. 


CHAPTER  XI 
CHOOSING   SUBJECTS 

In  Chapter  X  definite  subjects  were  assigned  for  talks. 
Getting  a  subject  for  yourself  sometimes  seems  difiicult; 
you  are  likely  to  think  that  there  is  no  topic  upon  which 
you  can  say  more  than  a  few  sentences.  Isn't  it  true  that 
when  you  are  talking  to  your  friends  you  seldom  are  at  a 
loss  for  something  to  say?  Of  course,  what  your  companion 
says  often  suggests  an  idea  on  which  you  give  your  opinion. 
You  speak  about  things  that  interest  you,  and  the  words 
come  fairly  easily.  Why  not  apply  the  same  principle  to 
more  formal  composition,  whether  oral  or  wTitten?  Unless 
a  subject  interests  you,  do  not  use  it.  But  be  careful  that 
you  do  not  reject  it  as  uninteresting  until  you  have  thought 
about  it  carefully,  considering  it  from  all  sides.  Often  one 
subject  will  suggest  another  akin  to  it,  but  more  interesting 
to  you  because  you  know  more  about  it.  For  this  reason 
choose  very  simple  subjects,  and  become  thoroughly  familiar 
with  them  by  thinking  or  reading  about  them,  before  you 
attempt  to  explain  them. 

Sometimes,  again,  you  will  find  that  the  subject  you  have 
chosen  is  not  good  because  it  is  not  definite  enough.  You 
hardly  know  where  or  how  to  begin  to  explain  it,  because 
it  suggests  no  definite  ideas.  Perhaps,  for  instance,  you 
have  decided  to  write  on  the  automobile  aijd  can  think 
of  nothing  to  say  until  you  remember  that  you  once 
saw  an  automobile  race  about  which  you  can  tell  several 
interesting  details;  or  you  have  seen  an  automobile  acci- 
dent and  can  write  on  the  topic  A  Runaway  Electric,     If 


CHOOSING    SUBJECTS  147 

you  can  speak  or  write  on  topics  taken  from  your  own 
observation,  your  composition  will  probably  be  good.  You 
know  the  facts,  you  have  an  interest  in  the  subject,  and  you 
will  very  likely  say  something  of  interest  to  others.  Sub- 
jects taken  from  school  life  or  neighborhood  happenings, 
especially  such  things  as  you  yourself  have  seen,  are 
excellent.  Perhaps  on  your  way  to  school  you  noticed  that 
several  old  houses  are  being  torn  down.  You  remember 
that  you  heard  that  a  candy  factory  is  to  be  erected.  At 
once  several  suggestions  for  themes  will  come  to  you;  as, 
Why  the  Factory  is  Being  Erected  in  this  Neighborhood,  How 
Neighborhoods  Change  in  a  Large  City,  The  Work  the  Wrecking 
Company  Carries  on.  Perhaps  your  father  owns  property 
in  the  neighborhood,  and  you  could  write  on  How  Real 
Estate  Values  have  Changed  in  this  Neighborhood. 

Next  to  your  own  experience,  the  best  source  from  which 
to  draw  subjects  is  your  reading.  This  may  be  divided  into 
(i)  books,  (2)  magazines  and  newspapers.  Recall  one  of 
the  books  that  you  read  in  the  grammar  grades,  perhaps 
The  Courtship  of  Miles  Standish.  Drawing  your  material 
from  this  source,  you  can  write  A  Picture  of  Early  Plymouth 
Days,  or  a  sketch  of  Miles  Standish's  character,  using  the 
title  Practice  What  You  Preach.  But  to  try  to  tell  the  whole 
story  to  any  one  in  two  or  three  minutes  would  result  in 
failure,  for  it  would  be  a  subject  entirely  too  big  to  treat 
in  so  short  a  time.  All  the  interesting  details  would  have 
to  be  omitted,  and,  if  the  details  are  omitted,  the  story  loses 
its  vitality. 

It  is  the  newspaper  or  the  magazine,  however,  that  offers 
us  the  most  available  source  of  subjects.  Practically  all 
that  we  know  of  the  modern  world  and  of  the  wonderful 
progress  being  made  in  invention  and  discovery,  as  well  as 
of  the  accidents  and  disasters  that  take  place,  we  have 
learned  first  from  the  newspaper  and  have  verified  later 
by  the  articles  in  magazines.    Every  issue  of  a  newspaper  or 


148  COMPOSITION 

of  a  magazine  contains  suggestions  for  many  subjects.  Such 
magazines  as  The  World's  Work,  System,  The  Outlook,  The 
Technical  World,  and  other  magazines  that  deal  with  techni- 
cal subjects  in  a  popular  way  are  excellent  for  this  work. 

A  third  important  source  of  subjects  is  the  studies  that 
you  are  now  pursuing.  Every  new  study  affords  a  new 
point  of  view,  which  should  suggest  many  topics  for  oral 
and  written  themes.  Sometimes  a  good  subject  is  the  com- 
parison of  two  of  your  studies  by  which  you  try  to  show, 
perhaps,  how  the  one  depends  on  the  other. 

The  subject,  of  course,  is  but  the  beginning  of  the  com- 
position. Developing  the  subject  is  fully  as  important  as 
having  a  subject  to  develop.  The  ability  to  develop  a  sub- 
ject clearly  is  very  important  in  the  business  world.  A 
business  man  sells  his  goods  either  by  talking  or  by  writing; 
by  the  salesman  or  by  the  letter  and  the  advertisement. 
Unless  the  salesman  talks  in  a  convincing  way,  he  probably 
will  sell  few  goods.  He  must  know  not  only  what  to  say, 
but  how  to  say  it. 

Exercise  154  —  The  Subject  as  a  Whole 

First,  you  must  see  your  subject  in  its  entirety,  as  one 
thing.  Ask  yourself,  *'Just  what  does  my  title  mean?" 
and  if  you  have  not  as  yet  selected  a  title,  study  your  sub- 
ject from  all  sides  until  you  can  see  how  to  narrow  it  to 
certain  definite  dimensions.  Now  you  have  set  a  sort  of 
fence  around  your  subject.  Nothing  outside  must  enter, 
but  nothing  inside  must  escape.  The  length  of  the  com- 
position you  are  to  write  usually  helps  you  decide  on  the 
Hmits  of  your  subject.  If  you  are  writing  a  book  on  Africa, 
you  might  include  all  that  the  title  suggests  to  you  of  explo- 
ration, colonization,  civilization,  and  Christianization.  But 
if  you  are  writing  a  very  short  theme  —  not  over  three 
pages  —  it  is  evident  that  the  subject  must  be  narrowed. 
Would  The  Transvaal  be  good?     The  Jungles  of  Africa? 


CHOOSING    SUBJECTS  149 

Roosevelt  in  Africa  ?    African  Mission  Stations  ?    When  I 
think  of  Africa  I  think  of  Stanley  ? 

Which  of  the  following  subjects  would  be  good  for  short 
compositions,  either  oral  or  written?  The  oral  theme  should 
occupy  two  or  three  minutes,  the  written  perhaps  three 
pages.    What  is  the  objection  to  a  one  word  subject? 

1.  Manufacturing.  11.  The  dead  letter  office. 

2.  Household  uses  of  electricity.     12.  The  clearing  house. 

3.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  13.  Business. 

States.  14.  Honesty  in  business. 

4.  Why  we  celebrate  the  Fourth   15.  Physicians  should  adver- 

of  July.  tise. 

5.  The  destruction  of  our  forests.  16.  Paper. 

6.  Europe.  17.  How  an  electric  bell  works. 

7.  The  westernizing  of  China.  18.  Electrifying  the  railroads. 

8.  How  railroads  build  cities.  19.  How  to  make  candy. 

>  9.  The  fire  drill  at  school.  20.  Vocational    education   in 

10.  Education.  Germany. 

Exercise  155  —  The  Divisions  of  the  Subject 

After  you  have  selected  your  subject,  decide  into  what 
elisions  it  naturally  falls.  If  it  is  of  the  proper  length,  it 
probabiywill  divide  itself  into  twojor  three  divisions.  Each 
of  these  will  constitute  one-half  or  one-third  of  your  com- 
position, and  within  each  division  illustrations,  reasons,  and 
explanatory  details  will  appear.  Arrange  the  divisions  in 
the  order  in  which  they  naturally  come,  according  to  their 
relative  time  of  happening  or  according  to  their  relative 
importance,  reserving  the  most  important  for  the  last. 

Sometimes  this  sort  of  division  is  difficult  to  make,  because 
a  subject  can  frequently  be  treated  from  different  points  of 
view,  the  point  of  view  deciding  the  divisions.  Sometimes 
you  will  find  that  you  have  made  a  number  of  small  divi- 
sions, in  each  of  which  you  can  say  only  one  or  two  sentences. 
This  will  at  once  suggest  that  you  have  not  found  the  main 
parts  of  the  subject,  but  have  made  unimportant  divisions. 


I50  COMPOSITION 

Again,  it  may  seem  that  you  cannot  divide  your  subject 
into  satisfactory  parts.  In  that  case,  you  probably  do  not 
know  enough  about  it.  Think  about  it  again,  and,  if  you 
find  that  you  really  cannot  divide  it,  choose  another. 

Choose  one  of  the  following  subjects.  Is  the  title  definite 
and  clear?  If  it  is  not,  change  it  so  that  it  will  be.  For 
example,  Photography  (5)  is  not  a  definite  title.  No  one 
could  attempt  to  explain  the  entire  subject  of  photography 
in  a  few  minutes.  A  better  title  for  a  theme  would  be  one 
of  the  following:  How  to  Develop  a  Negative;  How  to  In- 
tensify [or  reduce]  a  Negative  ;  Our  Camera  Club  ;  The  Photog- 
raphy Exhibit  at  the  Art  Museum;  Kinematography ;  Flash 
Light  Pictures  without  Smoke  or  Odor ;  The  Conditions  Neces- 
sary for  a  Good  Snap  Shot  Picture;  The  Advantages  of  Using 
a  Developing  Machine;  How  My  Camera  Helped  Pay  for 
My  Vacation,    Can  you  suggest  still  others? 

After  having  selected  your  title,  decide  into  what  divisions 
the  subject  naturally  falls.  For  example,  let  us  take  (2) 
below.  A  Ball  Game  is  not  a  definite  title.  Instead,  let  us 
choose  Last  Saturdays  Football  Game,  As  stated  above,  a 
subject  may  be  treated  from  different  points  of  view,  the 
point  of  view  deciding  the  divisions.  Thus,  in  treating 
Last  Saturdays  Football  Game,  we  may  divide: 


Last  Saturday's  Football  Game 

I.  The  first  quarter. 

II.  The  second  quarter. 

III.  The  third  quarter. 

IV.  The  fourth  quarter. 

b 

Last  Saturday's  Football  Game 

I.   The  excitement  for  a  week  before  the  game. 
II.   The  tension  during  the  struggle. 
III.   The  celebration  after  the  game. 


CHOOSING    SUBJECTS  151 

c 

The  Two  Decisive  Plays  in  Saturday's  Game 

I.   The  long  forward  pass. 
11.   The  end  run  to  the  five-yard  line. 

Still  other  divisions  may  be  made  if  we  consider  the  subject 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  teams  or  the  players  themselves. 
Can  you  suggest  any  such  divisions? 

In  the  same  way  choose  one  of  the  subjects  given  below. 
Change  it,  if  necessary.  Then  wTite  out  the  topic  of  each 
division  in  as  few  words  as  possible. 

1.  An  important  electrical  device. 

2.  A  ball  game. 

3.  Getting  dinner. 

4.  The  aeroplane. 

5.  Photography. 

6.  How  styles  change. 

7.  The  back-to-the-farm  movement. 

8.  Why  oriental  rugs  are  expensive. 

9.  Wireless  telegraphy. 

10.   The  business  course  in  this  school. 

Exercise  156  —  The  Outline 

If  your  theme  consists  of  more  than  one  division,  before 
you  begin  to  speak  or  write  you  should  prepare  a  definite 
working  plan  or  outline.  It  should  include  enough  to 
suggest  the  first  sentence  of  each  division  and  the  more 
important  details  within  each.  The  outline  will  help  you 
in  speaking  or  writing  to  arrange  the  topics  so  that  they 
will  follow  one  another  clearly.  If  you  have  an  outline, 
there  will  be  much  less  danger  of  including  details  which 
do  not  belong  to  the  subject  and  omitting  details  which 
should  appear. 

In  the  following  very  simple  outlines  notice  the  use  of 
indentation: 


152  COMPOSITION 


The  Problem  of  Keeping  our  Cities  Clean 

I.    The  cleaning  of  streets. 

(a)  In  summer. 

(i)  The  cost  of  sprinkling. 

(b)  In  winter. 

(i)  The  cost  of  removing  snow. 
II.   The  cleaning  of  alleys. 

(a)  The  disposal  of  garbage. 
III.   The  smoke  nuisance.  • 

(a)  Smoke  consumers. 

(b)  Smoke  inspection. 


Public  Gymnasiums 

I.  Definition  of  a  public  gymnasium. 

(a)  Location. 

(b)  Equipment. 

(c)  Management. 

n.   Benefits  to  the  public. 

(a)  Keeps  children  off  the  streets, 
(i)  Congested  districts. 

(b)  Develops  them  physically. 

(c)  Affords  them  pleasure. 

(i)  Outdoor  and  indoor  games. 

(2)  Bathing  at  beaches  connected  with  gymnasiums. 

One  more  suggestion  is  in  place  here.  In  writing  an 
outline,  be  careful  that  you  express  similar  subdivisions  of 
a  topic  by  similar  grammatical  elements.  For  example,  in 
the  first  outline  above,  (a)  under  I  is  a  phrase;  (b)  under  I 
should  be  a  similar  phrase.  It  would  be  incorrectly  worded 
Winter  or  What  the  winter  problem  is.  What  is  the  advantage 
of  such  similarity? 

Using  the  divisions  you  made  for  one  of  the  subjects  under 
Exercise  155,  develop  an  outline  for  a  theme. 


CHOOSING    SUBJECTS  153 

Exercise  157 

Choose  one  of  the  following  subjects;  restrict  it  or  expand 
it,  if  necessary;  select  a  proper  title;  write  an  outline;  and 
then  write  or  deliver  your  composition,  following  your  outline 
closely.  Notice  that  the  shorter  your  title  the  more  it 
includes,  and  therefore  the  longer  your  composition  must  be 
to  deal  adequately  with  the  subject. 

1.  Giving  talks  before  a  class  develops  self-reHance. 

2.  Most  inventors  would  not  have  succeeded  without  per- 
severance. 

3.  The  more  training  a  man  has,  the  better  chance  he  has  to 
succeed. 

4.  Most  rich  men  learned  tO'save  early. 

5.  The  value  of  courtesy  in  a  retail  business. 

6.  The  dangers  of  football. 

7.  The  various  methods  of  heating  a  house. 

8.  The  sporting  page  often  sells  the  newspaper. 

9.  Educational  features  of  the  modern  newspaper. 

10.  Our  national  game. 

11.  Baseball  is  a  better  game  than  football. 

12.  The  use  of  machinery  has  lowered  the  cost  of  manufactured 
articles. 

13.  How  to  prevent  taking  colds. 

14.  Athletic  contests  develop  courage. 

15.  Qualities  essential  to  good  salesmanship. 

16.  Our  debate  with . 

17.  The  qualities  of  a  good  street  car  advertisement. 

18.  A  good  cartoon. 

19.  Learning  to  swim. 

20.  The  trials  of  washing  day. 

21.  Birds  as  money  savers. 

22.  Birds  as  destroyers. 

2s.  Open  air  as   a  cure  for  tuberculosis. 

24.  Making  a  raft. 

25.  Every  one  should  open  a  savings  account. 

26.  Laziness. 

27.  Tennis  is  better  than  baseball. 

28.  Our  respiratory  system. 

29.  The  bad  effects  of  ridicule. 

30.  The  good  effects  of  ridicule. 


154  COMPOSITION 

Exercise  158 

Recall  one  of  the  books  that  you  have  read  recently. 
Name  two  subjects  that  it  suggests  to  you  and  that  you 
can  talk  about.  Write  a  careful  outline  for  each  of  them, 
and  be  prepared  to  speak  on  one. 

Exercise  159 

Name  a  subject  taken  from  one  of  your  studies,  history 
for  example.  Let  it  be  definite  enough  so  that  you  can  tell 
all  the  details  that  you  know  about  it  in  a  speech  lasting 
two  or  three  minutes.  Use  examples  and  illustrations  to 
make  the  subject  interesting  and  clear.     Prepare  an  outline. 

Exercise  160 

Reproduce  an  article  that  you  have  read  in  a  current 
magazine.  Be  careful  that  you  make  the  material  your 
own  before  attempting  to  retell  it.  Do  not  under  any 
circumstances  try  to  memorize  the  article.  Understand 
fully  what  it  says,  make  an  outline  of  the  facts  that  you 
wish  to  reproduce,  and  then  give  them  as  if  they  were  your 
own  ideas.  At  the  beginning  of  your  speech  tell  the  name 
and  date  of  the  magazine  from  which  you  are  taking  the 
facts. 

Exercise  161 

As  has  been  said,  most  of  us  get  our  ideas  of  what  is 
taking  place  in  the  world  from  the  articles  that  we  read  in 
current  newspapers  and  magazines.  We  cannot  always  form 
our  opinion  from  what  one  newspaper  on  one  day  says  of  a 
particular  event.  We  must  read  what  it  tells  us  for  several 
days  and,  if  possible,  consult  other  newspapers  on  the  same 
subject,  for  it  is  wxll  known  that  not  all  newspapers  are 
non-partisan.  If  one  in  the  city  is  known  to  be  so,  that  is 
the  paper  to  read  for  the  material  for  this  exercise.  Then, 
if  we  can  read  what  one  of  the  magazines  says  on  the  same 


CHOOSING  SUBJECTS  155 

subject,  our  knowledge  will  probably  be  more  definite  and 
more  nearly  true. 

Let  the  class  be  divided  into  different  sections,  repre- 
senting different  kinds  of  news;  for  example,  national, 
local,  foreign,  and  business  news.  Under  national  news, 
you  can  perhaps  find  articles  on  national  politics,  legisla- 
tive measures  being  discussed  at  Washington,  rumors  of 
war,  immigration;  under  local  news,  anything  pertaining 
to  the  city  or  the  state  in  which  you  live;  under  foreign 
news,  anything  of  interest  to  any  of  the  other  countries  of 
the  world;  under  business  news,  the  prices  of  food  products, 
strikes,  panics,  and  their  effect  on  business  conditions. 
These  are  but  suggestions.  Such  topics  change  so  rapidly 
that  nothing  more  definite  can  here  be  given. 

When  you  have  been  assigned  to  one  of  these  divisions, 
prepare  a  talk  on  a  topic  that  you  understand  thoroughly. 
Begin  your  talk  with  a  clear  statement  of  your  subject,  as 
explained  in  Exercise  140;  amplify  it  by  details  or  illustra- 
tions; and  end  with  a  sentence  of  conclusion,  forecasting 
the  future  of  your  topic  or  restating  what  you  have  proved. 

Exercise  162 

For  a  week  follow  the  same  current  event  as  recorded  in 
the  newspaper,  taking  notes  as  you  read.  Then  choose 
from  all  your  material  only  those  facts  that  belong  strictly 
to  one  topic.  Write  an  outline,  setting  forth  the  facts  in 
logical  order.  Deliver  the  speech,  following  your  outline 
closely. 

Exercise  163 

Let  the  class  choose  four  or  six  members  one  week  in 
advance,  who  are  to  prepare  a  debate  on  a  topic  of  current 
interest.  Let  the  other  members  of  the  class  act  as  judges 
or  volunteer  on  either  side,  as  the  instructor  may  see  fit. 
Such  debates  should  occur  as  often  as  possible. 


IS6  COMPOSITION     . 

Exercise  164 

About  once  a  month  devote  a  day  to  the  production  of  a 
class  paper.  Let  the  class  choose  a  name.  During  the 
first  year  let  the  items  be  developed  into  paragraphs.  Longer 
compositions  should  be  reserved  for  the  second  year. 


Suggestions  for  Articles  for  the  Paper 

1.  A  column  of  interesting  business  items  clipped  from  leading 
papers. 

2.  An  important  news  item  that  would  make  a  good  "story." 

3.  Original  editorials  on  one  or  more  of  the  following: 

a.  Needs  or  improvements  in  city,  school,  or  home. 
h.   Recent  city  news. 

c.  Business  news. 

d.  State  news. 

e.  National  news. 
/.    Foreign  news. 

4.  Personal    experiences,    amusing    incidents,    or    anecdotes, 
preferably  of  the  business  world. 

5.  For  sale  advertisements,  or  "want  ads"  that  the  class  would 
imderstand. 

Exercise  165 

Criticise  the  following  outlines.     Each  topic  is  supposed 
to  represent  a  division  in  thought. 

I 

Tee  Wheat  Harvest 

1.  A  group  of  reapers. 

2.  Their  costumes. 

3.  The  field. 

4.  Starting  the  harvest. 

5.  Carting  the  sheaves  to  the  bam. 

6.  The  stacks. 

7.  The  field  after  the  harvest. 


CHOOSING  SUBJECTS  157 


The  Tongue 

1.  What  it  is. 

2.  It  is  a  good  thing. 

3.  It  instructs. 

4.  Evils  done  by  the  tongue. 

5.  Especially  slander. 

6.  Conclusion. 

3 
The  Newspaper  Strike 

1.  The  cause. 

(a)  Strikers  want  higher  wages. 

(b)  Poverty  of  the  families  of  the  strikers. 

(c)  Police  have  to  protect  newsboys  against  strikers. 

2.  Disadvantages. 

(a)  Newspapers  are  losing  business. 

(b)  Newsboys  sympathize  with  strikers. 

3.  Riots. 

(a)  Newsboys  hurt  and  newspapers  burned. 

(b)  Police  cannot  watch  all  sections  of  city. 

4.  Conclusion. 


CHAPTER  XII 
PUNCTUATION 

When  we  speak,  we  make  our  meaning  clear  by  the  expres- 
sion that  we  put  into  our  words  and  sentences.  Some  sen- 
tences we  say  all  in  one  breath  and  with  not  much  change  in 
emphasis  from  one  word  to  the  next.  We  may  be  pretty 
sure  that  such  a  sentence  is  short  and  simple,  with  all  its 
elements  arranged  in  their  natural  order.  In  this  respect 
compare  the  sentences  given  below. 

Notice  that  the  following  sentence  is  spoken  as  one  word 
group: 

Steam  and  electricity  are  making  one  commercial  community 
of  all  nations. 

A  part  that  is  subordinate  in  idea  is  subordinate  in  tone; 
as. 

Steam  and  electricity,  which  are  the  greatest  of  all  discoveries^ 
are  making  one  commercial  community  of  all  nations. 

In  the  usual  order  of  the  sentence  the  subject  comes  first. 
Sometimes  for  emphasis  a  participial  phrase  or  an  adverbial 
clause  precedes  the  subject.  Such  inversion  is  always 
indicated;  as, 

//  the  grape  crop  is  large,  the  price  of  grapes  is  low. 

Sometimes  a  word  or  phrase  is  thrust  into  the  sentence 
to  give  clearness  or  force;   as, 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  season  is  poor,  the  price  of  grapes  is 
high. 

What,  thenj  determines  the  price  of  grapes? 


PUNCTUATION  159 

We  cannot  become  good  speakers  until  we  learn  to  subordi- 
nate in  tone  those  groups  of  words  that  are  subordinate  in 
idea,  and  to  bring  out  clearly  those  groups  which,  for  one 
reason  or  another,  are  emphatic.  The  same  thing  is  true 
in  music.  We  cannot  become  good  musicians  until  we  learn 
phrasing;  that  is,  until  we  learn  to  group  the  notes  to  form 
distinct  musical  ideas.  But  when  we  write  our  thoughts, 
we  cannot  indicate  the  tone  in  which  the  words  are  spoken. 
We  must  show  in  some  other  way  which  groups  of  words 
belong  together,  which  are  important,  and  which  are  subor- 
dinate in  idea.  For  this  purpose  punctuation  marks  have 
been  invented.  When  we  write,  we  unconsciously  speak 
the  thoughts  to  ourselves;  we  hear  the  divisions  between 
the  parts  of  ideas;  and,  if  we  understand  punctuation,  we 
indicate  the  divisions. 

Questions 

1.  Why  in  writing  and  printing  do  we  separate  one  word 
from  the  next?    In  ancient  writing  this  was  not  done. 

2.  Why  do  we  separate  one  sentence  from  the  next? 

3 .  We  use  punctuation  marks  for  the  same  reason.    Explain. 

4.  The  word  to  keep  in  mind  in  punctuation  is  separate. 
If  two  words  belong  together  in  idea,  the  two  making  one 
idea,  allow  them  to  stand  unseparated.  If  they  give  two 
ideas,  separate  them  by  a  mark  of  punctuation.  What  is 
the  difference  in  thought  in  the  two  sentences  that  follow? 

(a)    She  is  a  pretty,  energetic  girl. 
{h)    She  is  a  pretty  energetic  girl. 

Exercise  166  —  The  Apostrophe  C) 

The  apostrophe  (')  is  used  — 
I.  To  show  the  possessive  case  of  nouns  (See  Exercise  82); 
as. 

The  hoy^s  writing  is  excellent. 


i6o  COMPOSITION 

2.  To  indicate  the  omission  of  one  or  more  letters;   as, 
ril  attend  to  the  matter. 

3.  To  show  the  plural  of  letters,  figures,  and  words  that 

usually  have  no  plural;   as. 

Your  3^s  are  too  much  like  your  5^5,  your  a^s  like  your  u's. 
Don't  use  so  many  and's. 

Write  sentences  in  each  of  which  you  use  one  of  the  follow- 
ing words  correctly: 


you're 

we're 

who's 

they're 

your 

were 

whose 

there 

it's 

he's 

don't 

their 

its 

his 

doesn't 

Explain  why  the  apostrophe  is  used  in  the  following: 

1.  I've  received  no  reply. 

2.  This  month's  sales  exceed  last  month's  by  one  thousand 
dollars. 

3.  Politics  doesn't  affect  the  matter  very  much. 

4.  The  mistake  was  caused  by  his  making  his  7's  like  his  9's. 

5.  Have  you  received  the  treasurer's  report?    No,  I  haven't. 

Point  out  the  mistakes  in  the  following: 

1.  For  sale,  A  ladies  fur  coat. 

2.  The  boy's  have  gone  skating. 

3.  We  wo'nt  worry  over  the  political  situation. 

4.  Lets  decide  now  where  were  to  spend  our  vacation. 

5.  Dot  your  is  and  not  your  us. 

6.  Is  this  book  your's  or  her's? 

Exercise  167 

Capitals  are  used  for  — 

1.  The  first  word  of  every  sentence. 

2.  The  first  word  of  every  line  of  poetry. 

3.  The  first  word  of  a  quotation  (See  Exercise  169). 

4.  The  first  word  of  a  formal  statement  or  resolution;   as, 

Resolved,  That  women  shall  be  given  the  right  to  vote. 


PUNCTUATION  i6i 

5.  The  first  word  of  every  group  of  words  paragraphed 

separately  in   an   itemized   list,   as   in    an   order  for 
merchandise. 

6.  The  pronoun  /  and  the  interjection  0  (not  oh), 

7.  The  words  Bible  and  Scripture^  the  books  of  the  Bible, 

all  names  applied  to  the  Deity,  and  all  personal  pro- 
nouns referring  to  Him. 

8.  All  proper  nouns,  proper  adjectives,  and  words  that  are 

considered  proper  nouns;  as, 

a.  Names  of  the  days  of  the  week,  holidays,  and  months 

of  the  year,  but  not  names  of  the  seasons. 

b.  North,  South,  etc.,  when  they  refer  to  sections  of 

the  country,  but  not  when  they  refer  to  a  direction 
or  a  point  of  the  compass. 

c.  Official  titles  or  titles  of  honor  when  they  are  used 

in  connection  with  names,  but  not  when  they  are 
used  without  names;  as, 

Vice-President  Roosevelt,  ex-President  Roosevelt. 
Nominations  are  now  in  order  for  vice-president. 

d.  Names  of  political  parties. 

e.  Names  of  religious  sects. 

/.   Names  of  important  events  or  documents;  as, 

The  Revolution,  The  Declaration  of  Independence. 

g.  The  salutation  in  a  letter;  as, 

Dear  Sir,  Gentlemen. 

h.  Words  indicating  relationship,  when  they  are  used 
in  connection  with  a  proper  name,  or  when  used 
alone  as  a  name,  but  not  when  used  with  a  posses- 
sive pronoun;   as. 

We  expect  Aunt  Ellen  at  four  o'clock. 
I  expect  my  mother  at  four  o'clock. 


i62  COMPOSITION 

9.  The  important  words  in  the  title  of  a  book,  play,  or  com- 
position. Prepositions,  articles,  and  conjunctions  are 
not  capitalized;   as. 

The  CaU  of  the  Wild. 

10.  Such    words  as  Paragraph,    Article,  or    Section,  when 

accompanied  with  a  number;   as, 

Paragraph  26,  Article  3. 

11.  See  Exercise  75. 

Exercise  168 

The  period  (.)  is  used  -^ 

1.  To  indicate  the  end  of  a  declarative  sentence;  as. 

The  business  is  prosperous. 

2.  To  indicate  an  abbreviation;  as. 

The  firm  of  Clark  Bros,  has  opened  a  new  office  at  144  Pleasant 
St.,  Erie,  Pa. 

The  interrogation  mark  (?)  is  used  — 

To  indicate  the  end  of  a  sentence  that  asks  a  question; 
as, 

When  did  you  order  the  goods? 

The  exclamation  mark  ( !)  is  used  —    . 
To  indicate  the  end  of  a  sentence  or  other  expression  that 
shows  strong  feeling;  as. 

Such  demands  are  inhuman! 

Frequently,  all  that  shows  exactly  how  the  writer  wished 
his  thought  to  be  understood  is  the  punctuation.  The 
same  words  may  express  different  ideas  according  to  the 
mark  of  punctuation  that  follows  them.  Read  the  'follow- 
ing to  show  the  meaning  that  the  writer  wished  to  convey 
by  each.  Explain  the  circumstances  under  which  each  might 
have  been  spoken. 


PUNCTUATION  163 

1.  The  price  is  too  high. 

2.  The  price  is  too  high! 

3.  The  price  is  too  high? 

4.  The  crop  will  not  be  good.    There'll  be  no  corn. 

5.  Corn!  There'll  be  no  corn! 

6.  You  didn't  tell  him  that. 

7.  You  didn't  tell  him  that! 

8.  You  didn't  tell  him  that? 

9.  You  are  enjoying  yourself. 

10.  You  are  enjoying  yourself? 

1 1 .  You  are  enjoying  yourself ! 

Exercise  169 —  Quotation  Marks  (**  '*) 

1.  When  a  speaker's  words  are  quoted  exactly,  they  should 
be  enclosed  in  quotation  marks.  This  is  called  a  direct 
quotation. 

He  said,  "The  business  is  growing." 

Notice  that  the  word  said  is  followed  by  a  comma,  and  that 
the  quotation  begins  with  a  capital  letter. 

2.  If  the  quotation  itself  is  a  question,  although  it  forms 
part  of  a  declarative  sentence,  it  requires  an  interrogation 
mark  before  the  quotation  mark;   as, 

Have  you  been  waiting  long? 
She  opened  the  door  and  said,  ''Have  you  been  waiting  long?" 

3.  The  same  applies  to  a  quotation  that  requires  an 
exclamation  mark;    as. 

Look! 

He  cried,  "Look!" 

4.  When  the  words  of  explanation  follow  the  quoted 
words,  the  punctuation  is  as  follows: 

(a)  When  the  quotation  is  a  declarative  sentence,  put  a 
comma  after  the  quotation  and  begin  the  words  of  explana- 
tion with  a  small  letter;   as, 

"The  business  is  growing,"  he  said. 


1 64  COMPOSITION 

(b)  When  the  quotation  is  a  question,  conclude  it  with  an 
interrogation  mark,  and  begin  the  words  of  explanation  with 
a  small  letter;  as, 

"  Have  you  been  waiting  long  ?  "  she  asked. 

(c)  When  the  quotation  is  an  exclamation,  conclude  it  with 
an  exclamation  mark,  and  begin  the  words  of  explanation 
with  a  small  letter;  as,  V 

"Lookl"  he  cried. 

5.  When  the  author's  words  of  explanation  interrupt  the 
speaker's  words,  the  punctuation  is  as  follows: 

(a)  When  the  interrupted  parts  are  not  naturally  separated 
by  any  punctuation  mark,  the  comma  is  used  as  follows: 

I  do  not  believe  that  the  report  is  true. 

"I  do  not  believe,"  he  said,  "that  the  report  is  true." 

Notice  in  what  way   the   quotation   marks  show  that  the 
words  he  said  do  not  belong  to  the  quoted  words. 

ib)  Whatever  mark  of  punctuation  would  naturally  appear 
between  the  interrupted  parts  must  be  used;  as, 

(i)  I  shall  buy  the  Boston  ferns;  they  seem  to  require  but 
little  care. 

"I  shall  buy  the  Boston  ferns,"  she  said;  "they  seem  to  require 
but  little  care." 

(2)   Oh!  The  flames  are  higher! 

"Oh! "  she  cried.     "The  flames  are  higher! " 

4.  Division  into  sentences  is  made  within  a  quotation 
just  as  elsewhere.  When  the  thought  ends,  the  sentence 
must  end.  The  different  sentences,  however,  must  not  be 
divided  by  quotation  marks;  as, 

"The  train  came  in,"  said  he,  "half  an  hour  ago.  I  do  not 
see  them  in  the  waiting  room.     I  think  they  did  not  come." 

5.  When  a  quotation  is  very  long,  consisting  of  several 
paragraphs,  quotation  marks  should  be  placed  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  quotation,  at  the  beginning  of  each  succeeding 


PUNCTUATION  165 

paragraph,  and  at  the  end  of  the  quotation  —  not  at  the  end 
of  each  paragraph. 

6.  When  a  quotation  occurs  within  a  quotation,  the  one 
within  is  distinguished  by  single  marks;   as, 

John  explained,  "After  I  had  told  Mr.  Brown  how  I  thought 
the  work  could  be  done  more  easily,  he  said,  'Thank  you  for  your 
suggestion.'  '^ 

7.  Any  words  quoted  from  a  book  or  article,  or  any  words 
quoted  with  a  special  significance,  such  as  slang,  should  be 
enclosed  in  quotation  marks;  as. 

The  day  of  the  salesman  who  is  satisfied  with  the  "good  old 
way ''  is  fast  passing. 

8.  A  formal  question,  statement,  or  resolution  for  a  debate 
is  not  enclosed  in  quotation  marks;  as, 

The  question  we  are  to  discuss  is,  Shall  women  vote? 

Exercise  170 

Punctuate  the  following,  dividing  into  sentences  wherever 
the  sense  demands  division: 

1.  Thank  you  for  your  suggestion  said  Mr.  Brown ^ 

2.  Mr.  Brown  said  thank  you  for  your  suggestion 

3.  Thank  you  said  Mr.  Brown  for  your  suggestion 

4.  If  you  will  ask  the  shipping  clerk  I  volunteered  I  think 
you  can  get  definite  information 

5.  How  can  we  enforce  the  law  asked  the  man 

6.  The  law  cried  the  man  how  can  we  enforce  the  law 

7.  Tell  me  said  the  man  how  we  can  enforce  the  law 

8.  Tell  me  this  said  the  man  how  can  we  enforce  the  law 
/  9.   The  question  before  us  is  how  can  we  enforce  the  law 

.  10.  John  whispered  did  you  hear  his  mother  say  yes  you  may 
go 

11.  As  I  was  walking  along  the  river  he  continued  I  heard  a 
voice  cry  help 

12.  Halt  shouted  the  captain  the  bridge  is  down 

13.  The  captain  shouted  halt  the  bridge  is  down 

14.  We  cannot  cross  said  the  captain  the  bridge  is  down 


i66  COMPOSITION 

15.  The  bridge  is  down  said  the  captain  and  I  fear  there  is  no 
other  way  to  cross 

16.  Is  the  bridge  down  asked  the  captain  does  no  one  know 
another  way  to  cross 

17.  The  captain  said  the  bridge  is  down  do  you  know  another 
way  to  cross 

18.  What  shall  we  do  asked  a  soldier  if  the  bridge  is  down 

19.  Do  cried  the  captain  swim  that's  what  we'll  do 

20.  As  we  were  riding  along  spoke  up  one  of  the  soldiers  I  heard 
a  farmer  shout  you  fellows  better  try  the  bridge  lower  down 

Exercise  171  — Indirect  Discourse 

In  the  preceding  exercise  we  saw  different  forms  of  direct 
quotations,  or  direct  discourse.  In  each  case,  the  speaker's 
words  were  quoted  exactly.  When  the  substance  of  the 
thought  is  given  in  slightly  different  form,  we  have  an 
indirect  quotation,  or  indirect  discourse,  in  which  no  quota- 
tion marks  are  used.  An  indirect  quotation  is  usually  a 
subordinate  clause  depending  on  a  word  of  thinking,  saying, 
tellingj  or  the  like.  Indirect  statements  are  usually  intro- 
duced by  thaty  and  indirect  questions  by  when,  where,  why, 
whether,  if,  who,  which,  what,  and  the  like.  When  a  sentence 
is  changed  from  direct  to  indirect  discourse,  the  person  and 
usually  the  tense  of  the  direct  quotation  are  changed;  as, 

Direct:  He  said,  "I  do  not  believe  the  report.'* 
Indirect:  He  said  that  he  did  not  believe  the  report. 

Direct:  He  said,  "Germany  is  over-populated." 
Indirect:  He    said    that    Germany    is    over-populated.     (See 
Exercise  107.) 

Direct:   She  said,  "I  did  my  work  before  I  went  to  school." 
Indirect:   She  said  that  she  had  done  her  work  before  she  went 
to  school. 

Direct:   "I  have  finished  my  work,"  said  the  girl. 
Indirect:   She  says  that  she  has  finished  her  work. 

Direct:   "Why  didn't  he  succeed?"  I  asked. 
Indirect:   I  asked  why  he  had  not  succeeded. 


r 


PUNCTUATION  -  167 


Direct:   ^^ When  may  I  go?"  she  inquired. 
Indirect:   She  inquired  when  she  might  go. 


In  the  following  change  the  italicized  parts  to  direct  quo- 
tations.    Do  not  change  the  paragraphing. 


The  Seal's  Lesson 

The  baby  seal  said  that  he  could  not  swim. 

His  mother  answered  that  he  could  try. 

The  little  fellow  persisted  that  he  could  never  learn. 

His  mother  looked  at  him  sternly,  and  said  that  every  seal 
must  learn  to  swim. 

He  replied  that  the  water  was  cold  and  that  he  liked  the  sand 
better y  but  because  his  mother  insisted,  he  slid  into  the  water 
whimpering. 

After  he  had  gone  a  short  distance,  he  turned  around  and  called 
out  that  the  water  was  much  pleasanter  than  the  sand. 

His  mother  said  that  she  knew  that  it  would  be  so.  She  said 
that  young  people  must,  do  as  they  are  told  because  they  have  not 
had  enough  experience  to  judge  for  themselves. 


A  Faithful  Servant 

A  certain  old  time  king  said  that  he  needed  a  servant  who  could 
be  depended  upon.  He  said  he  knew  that  such  a  man  is  difficult  to 
secure^  and  in  the  hope  of  getting  the  right  one,  he  would  hire  two. 

When  he  had  engaged  them,  he  took  them  to  a  well  and,  show- 
ing them  a  large  basket,  told  them  to  fill  it  with  water.  He  said 
that  he  would  return  at  night  to  see  what  they  had  done. 

The  men  were  very  much  in  earnest  when  they  began  the  work, 
but,  after  pouring  five  or  six  bucketfuls  of  water  into  the  basket, 
one  of  them  stopped  and  said  that  he  did  not  see  any  use  in  doing 
that  because,  as  soon  as  he  poured  the  water  in,  it  ran  out  again, 
and  his  time  was  lost. 

His  companion  replied  that  the  kind  of  work  that  their  master 
gave  them  was  no  concern  of  theirs;  that  they  were  paid  to  do  the 
work;  and,  whether  it  seemed  useful  to  them  or  not,  they  ought  to 
do  it. 


J 


1 68  COMPOSITION 

The  first  speaker  said  that  the  other  man  could  do  as  he  pleased^ 
hut,  as  for  him,  he  did  not  expect  to  waste  his  time  on  such  foolish 
work.    Throwing  his  bucket  down,  he  walked  off. 

The  one  that  was  left  continued  at  the  work  until  about  sunset, 
when  he  had  nearly  emptied  the  well.  Looking  into  the  basket, 
he  saw  something  glittering.  Stooping  to  look  more  closely,  he 
found  in  the  basket  a  ring  of  great  value  which  his  bucket  had 
scooped  up  from  the  mud  at  the  bottom  of  the  well.  He  said 
that  now  he  knew  why  the  king  had  wanted  the  water  poured  into 
the  basket. 

Shortly  afterward,  when  the  king  came  up  with  some  of  his 
ofhcers  and  saw  the  ring  in  the  basket,  he  knew  that  the  man 
had  obeyed  him,  and  he  said  that  he  knew  he  could  trust  him, 
and  as  a  reward  for  obedience  he  would  make  him  master  over  other 
servants. 

Exercise  172  —  The  Paragraph  in  Dialogue 

In  conversation  the  words  of  each  speaker,  together  with 
the  author's  words  of  explanation,  form  one  paragraph. 
Whenever  the  speaker  changes,  the  paragraph  changes;   as, 

"Mimer,"  boldly  said  the  god  Odin  to  the  gray  old  guardian 
of  the  well  where  wit  and  wisdom  lie  hidden,  "Mimer,  let  me 
drink  of  the  waters  of  wisdom." 

"Truly,  Odin,''  answered  Mimer,  "it  is  a  great  treasure  that 
you  seek  and  one  which  many  have  sought  before  but  who, 
when  they  knew  the  price  of  it,  turned  back." 

Then  replied  Odin,  "I  would  give  my  right  hand  for  wisdom 
willingly." 

"Nay,"  rejoined  the  remorseless  Mimer,  "it  is  not  your  right 
hand,  but  your  right  eye,  you  must  give."  —  Keary:  The  Heroes 
of  As  gar d. 

However,  when  one  speaker  talks  at  length,  what  he  says 
is  formed  into  paragraphs  according  to  the  divisions  into 
which  it  falls.     (See  Chapter  XIV.) 

When  a  short  quotation  is  simply  part  of  a  paragraph,  it 
is  punctuated  as  follows: 

This,  however,  was  of  use  to  me,  the  impression  continuing  on 
my  mind.    Often  when  I  was  tempted  to  buy  some  unnecessary 


PUNCTUATION  169 

thing,  I  said  to  myself,  "Don't  give  too  much  for  the  whistle/' 
and  I  saved  my  money. 

Paragraph  the  following: 


On  the  next  morning  we  had  gone  but  a  mile  or  two  when  we 
came  to  an  extensive  belt  of  woods,  through  the  midst  of  which 
ran  a  stream,  wide,  deep,  and  of  an  appearance  particularly 
muddy  and  treacherous.  In  plunged  the  cart,  but  midway  it 
stuck  fast.  Then  approached  the  long  team  and  heavy  wagon 
of  our  friends,  but  it  paused  on  the  brink.  '^Now  my  advice 
is,  — "  began  the  captain,  who  had  been  anxiously  contem- 
plating the  muddy  gulf.  "Drive  on!  "  cried  R.  But  Wright,  the 
muleteer,  apparently  had  not  as  yet  decided  the  point  in  his  own 
mind.  He  sat  still  in  his  seat  on  one  of  the  shaft-mules,  whistling 
in  a  low,  contemplative  strain  to  himself.  "My  advice  is,"  re- 
sumed the  captain,  "that  we  unload;  for  I'll  bet  any  man  five 
pounds  that  if  we  try  to  go  through,  we  shall  stick  fast."  "By 
the  powers,  we  shall  stick  fast ! "  echoed  Jack,  the  captain's  brother, 
shaking  his  large  head  with  an  air  of  conviction.  "Drive  on! 
drive  on!"  petulantly  cried  R.  "Well,"  observed  the  captain, 
turning  to  us  as  we  sat  looking  on,  "I  can  only  give  my  advice; 
and  if  people  won't  be  reasonable,  why,  they  won't,  that's  all!" 
—  Parkman:  The  Oregon  Trail. 


Rebecca  walked  up  the  lane  and  went  to  the  side  door.  There 
was  a  porch  there.  Seated  in  a  rocking-chair,  husking  corn,  was 
a  good-looking  young  man.  Rebecca  was  a  trifle  shy  at  this 
encounter,  but  there  was  nothing  to  do  except  explain  her 
presence;  so  she  asked,  "Is  the  lady  of  the  house  at  home?"  "I 
am  the  lady  of  the  house  at  present,"  said  the  stranger  with  a 
whimsical  smile.  "What  can  I  do  for  you?"  "Have  you  ever 
heard  of  the  —  would  you  like  —  or  I  mean,  do  you  need  any 
soap? "  queried  Rebecca.  "Do  I  look  as  if  I  do?"  he  responded 
unexpectedly.  Rebecca  dimpled.  "I  didn't  mean  that;  I  have 
some  soap  to  sell;  I  mean  I  would  like  to  introduce  to  you  a  very 
remarkable  soap,  the  best  now  on  the  market.  It  is  called  the  —  " 
"Oh!  I  must  know  that  soap,"  said  the  gentleman  genially. 
"Made  out  of  pure  vegetable  fats,  isn't  it?  "     "The  very  purest," 


lyo  COMPOSITION 

corroborated  Rebecca.  "No  acid  in  it?  "  "Not  a  trace."  "And 
yet  a  child  could  do  the  Monday  washing  with  it  and  use  no 
force?"  "A  babe,"  corrected  Rebecca.  "Oh!  a  babe,  eh? 
That  child  grows  younger  every  year,  instead  of  older  —  wise 
child! "  —  Wiggin:  Rebecca  of  Sunny  brook  Farm. 

Change  the  following  from  indirect  to  direct  discourse  and 
paragraph : 

When  Whittier  went  on  his  first  fishing  trip,  it  was  a  day  in 
early  summer.  The  long  afternoon  shadows  lay  cool  on  the 
grass.  The  boy  said  that  the  flowers  seemed  brighter  and  the 
birds  merrier  than  ever  before.  When  they  came  to  a  bend  in 
the  river,  his  uncle  said  that  this  was  a  good  place  to  try.  He 
told  the  boy  to  throw  out  his  line  as  he  had  seen  others  do  and 
move  it  on  the  surface  of  the  water  in  imitation  of  the  leap  of  a 
frog.  The  boy  did  as  he  was  told,  but  he  caught  no  fish.  His 
uncle  said  that  he  should  try  again.  Suddenly  the  bait  sank  out 
of  sight,  and  the  boy  cried  out  that  he  had  caught  a  fish  at  last. 
As  he  spoke,  he  pulled  up  a  tangle  of  weeds.  His  uncle  said  that 
he  should  try  again,  because  fishermen  must  have  patience.  In 
a  moment  the  boy  felt  something  tug  at  his  line,  and  as  he  jerked 
it  up,  he  saw  a  fine  pickerel  wriggling  in  the  sun.  In  uncon- 
trollable excitement  he  called  out  to  his  uncle,  telling  him  to  look 
at  the  big  pickerel.  His  uncle  said  that  the  boy  didn't  have 
it  yet,  and  as  he  spoke  there  was  a  splash  in  the  water,  and  the 
boy's  hook  hung  empty.  His  uncle  assured  him  that  there  were 
more  fish  in  the  river,  but  the  boy  would  not  be  comforted.  His 
uncle  smiled  shrewdly  and  told  Whittier  to  remember  never  to 
brag  of  catching  a  fish  until  it  was  on  dry  land.  He  said  that 
he  had  seen  older  people  doing  that  in  more  ways  than  one,  and 
so  making  fools  of  themselves.  He  said  that  it  was  better  not  to 
boast  of  doing  a  thing  until  it  was  done. 

Exercise  173  —  The  Comma(,) 

Rule  I.  — The  comma  is  used  to  separate  a  direct  quota- 
tion from  the  words  of  explanation. 

For  illustration  see  the  foregoing  exercises. 

Write  the  following  from  dictation;  then  compare  your 
version  with  the  original: 


PUNCTUATION  171 

Literature,  the  ministry,  medicine,  the  law,  and  other  occu- 
pations are  hindered  for  want  of  men  to  do  the  work.  When 
people  tell  you  the  reverse,  they  speak  that  which  is  not  true. 
If  you  desire  to  test  this,  you  need  only  hunt  up  a  first-class  editor, 
reporter,  business  manager,  foreman  of  a  shop,  mechanic,  or 
artist  in  any  branch  of  industry  and  try  to  hire  him.  You  will 
find  that  he  is  already  hired.  He  is  sober,  industrious,  capable, 
reliable,  and  always  in  demand.  He  cannot  get  a  day's  holiday 
except  by  courtesy  of  his  employer,  or  of  his  city,  or  of  the  great 
general  public.  But  if  you  need  idlers,  shirkers,  half-instructed, 
unambitious,  and  comfort-seeking  editors,  reporters,  lawyers, 
doctors,  and  mechanics  apply  anywhere.  —  Mark  Twain. 

In  the  above  point  out  the  instances  where  the  comma 
is  used  — 

1.  When  several  nouns  follow  one  another,  all  being  in 
the  same  case. 

2.  When  several  adjectives  follow  one  another,  all  modify- 
ing the  same  noun. 

3.  When  a  succession  of  phrases  modifies  the  same  noun. 
This  kind  of  succession  is  called  a  series.    The  comma  is 

used  to  separate  the  different  members  of  a  series.  Notice 
that  the  comma  is  used  between  the  last  two  members  before 
the  coordinate  conjunction  as  well  as  between  the  other 
members. 

Rule  2.  —  The  comma  is  used  to  separate  the  members  of 
a  series. 

Exercise  174 

Divide  the  following  into  sentences  and  supply  the  neces- 
sary commas: 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  tall,  strong^ powerfully^ built  boy*  he 
could  lift  a  load  cut  down  a  tree  or  build  a  fence  more  quickly 
than  any  one  else  in  the  neighborhoods  his  perseverance  in  his 
boyhood  helps  us  to  appreciate  the  firm  true  steady  hand  that 
guided  our  country  through  its  great  crisis .  tincoln  unceasingly 
showed  his  wise  brain, his  great  courage  and  his  kindness  of  heart 
his  character  was  not  made  in  a  day  nor  a  month  nor  a  year  it 


172  COMPOSITION 

was  built  up  after  years  of  yearning  years  of  striving  and  years 
of  hard  work. 

2 

Dear  Sir: 

You  can  make  no  mistake  in  buying  BCL  Power  Co.  bonds  now 
the  company  supplies  power  to  mines  and  towns  of  Colorado 
Utah  and  Idaho  it  furnishes  electric  Hght  and  power  to  Ophir 
Ouray  Ames  Pandora  and  other  towns  in  Colorado  in  Utah  it 
supplies  light  to  Mescal  Eureka  Provo  Logan  and  Bingham  it 
also  furnishes  power  for  the  street  railway  systems  of  Salt  Lake 
City  Farmington  and  Ogden. 

The  bonds  offer  such  good  security  good  interest  and  ready 
convertibility  that  we  expect  our  allotment  to  be  heavily  over- 
subscribed will  you  therefore  send  us  your  order  before  Monday 

Yours  truly, 

3 

Imagine  the  scene:  a  little  hollow  in  the  prairie  forming  a 
perfect  amphitheater  the  yellow  grass  and  wild  oats  grazed  short 
a  herd  of  horses  staring  from  the  slope  I  myself  standing  in  the 
middle  like  a  ring-master  in  a  circus  and  this  wonderful  horse 
performing  at  his  own  free  will.  He  trotted  powerfully  he 
galloped  gracefully  he  thundered  at  full  speed  he  lifted  forelegs 
to  welcome  he  flung  out  hind  legs  to  repel  he  leaped  as  if  springing 
over  bayonets  he  pranced  and  curvetted  as  if  he  were  the  pretty 
plaything  of  a  girl  and  finally  he  trotted  up  and  snuffed  about 
me  —  just  out  of  reach. 

4 
Dear  Madam: 

Our  Style  Book  shows  you  the  best  of  the  season's  styles  for 
ladies  misses  and  children  it  contains  illustrations  of  the  latest 
kinds  of  long  coats  of  skirts  in  the  most  fashionable  cuts  and 
materials  of  hats  that  are  new  and  particularly  becoming  and  of 
dresses  with  the  newest  sleeves  and- collars  we  are  especially  sure 
that  you  will  like  our  waists  they  are  artistic  in  design  styHsh 
in  cut  and  excellent  in  workmanship  they  are  selected  from  the 
leading  fashion  centers  are  the  creations  of  the  best  costumers  and 
always  have  individuality  twenty  years  of  selling  goods  by  mail 
have  given  us  experience  skill  and  knowledge  that  make  it  certain 
we  can  please  you.' 

The  enclosed  coupon  is  good  for  fifty  cents  on  a  five  dollar  order 
one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  on  a  tei^  dollar  order  and  two 


PUNCTUATION  173 

dollars  on  an  order  for  fifteen  dollars  or  more  this  offer  expires 
September  30. 

Yours  truly, 


Increased  wages  shorter  hours  and  perhaps  lower  efficiency 
for  the  hours  worked  have  done  more  to  raise  the  cost  of  living 
than  almost  anything  else  this  higher  cost  of  production  we 
see  on  the  farm  in  the  factory  in  transportation  in  merchan- 
dising and  even  in  domestic  service  we  cannot  double  the  cost  of 
excavating  brick-laying  plumbing  and  decorating  and  expect  not 
to  double  the  rents  that  we  must  pay  the  cost  of  building  has 
increased  as  the  demands  of  laborers  increased  as  their  hours  of 
work  decreased  and  as  their  wages  advanced  the  materials  that  go 
into  a  building  the  transportation  of  that  material  the  labor  of 
assembling  it  and  the  labor  of  fashioning  it  into  a  building  have 
all  advanced  in  price. 

Moreover,  high  living  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  high  cost 
of  living  our  demands  are  constantly  expanding  we  think  we 
must  have  more  conveniences  more  luxuries  more  clothes  and 
more  amusements  than  our  fathers  had  with  a  return  to  the  thrift 
of  our  fathers  with  a  return  to  their  desire  for  work  we  shall 
no  longer  feel  the  grip  of  the  high  cost  of  living  there  is  a  real 
danger  to  our  nation  in  our  extravagance  in  our  indifference  to 
cost  in  our  sweep  toward  ease  and  idleness  and  in  our  growing 
antipathy  for  work. 

Exercise  175 

Write  five  sentences  illustrating  series  of  words;  five 
illustrating  series  of  phrases;  and  five  illustrating  series  of 
clauses. 

Exercise  176 

Write  the  following  from  dictation: 


The  Government's  Laundry 

Some  of  the  paper  money  in  circulation  is  so  dirty  that  one 
feels  the  need  of  gloves  in  handling  it,  and  the  suspicion  that  it 


174  COMPOSITION 

is  germ  laden  might  well  be  verified.  It  has  often  been  said  that 
money  spreads  contagious  diseases,  nor  can  such  a  statement  be 
questioned  when  one  remembers  that  money  goes  into  every  kind 
of  home  and  is  handled  by  many  infected  persons.  The  govern- 
ment has  long  felt  that  something  should  be  done  to  lessen  this 
means  of  spreading  disease,  and  a  machine  has  finally  been  in- 
vented that  will  wash  and  iron  the  dirtiest  bills  until  they  look 
almost  as  fresh  as  new  ones.  The  entire  cost  of  operating  the 
device  is  hardly  fifty  cents  for  each  thousand  bills,  but  it  is  esti- 
mated that  it  will  save  the  government  as  much  as  a  million 
dollars  a  year. 

2 

Luck  and  Labor 

Luck  is  ever  waiting  for  something  to  turn  up;  labor  with 
keen  eyes  and  strong  will  turns  something  up.  Luck  lies  in  bed 
and  wishes  the  postman  would  bring  him  news  of  a  fortune; 
labor  turns  put  at  six  o'clock  and  with  busy  pen  or  ringing  ham- 
mer lays  the  foundation  of  a  competence.  Luck  whines;  labor 
whistles.    SLuck  relies  on  chance;  labor  on  character.  —  Cobden. 

The  selections  given  above  illustrate  the  compound  sen- 
tence. Notice  the  thought  expressed  in  these  sentences. 
There  is  usually  an  idea  of  balance  or  contrast,  and  the  two 
halves  of  the  sentence  express  the  two  halves  of  the  idea. 
The  two  members  are  usually  distinct  enough  to  require 
a  comma  before  the  conjunction.  If  the  conjunction  is 
omitted,  a  semicolon  must  separate  the  two  members,  as  in 
the  second  selection  above. 

Rule  3.  —  The  comma  is  used  before  the  coordinate  con- 
jtmction  in  a  compoimd  sentence.  If  the  conjtmction  is 
omitted,  a  semicolon  must  be  used. 

Exercise  177 

Separate  the  following  into  compound  sentences  and 
punctuate: 

I 

Sawdust  as  a  fire  extinguisher  sounds  absurd  but  recent  experi- 
ments in  Boston  have  proved  it  to  be  successful  in  quenching  fires 


PUNCTUATION  175 

in  tanks  of  oil  and  other  inflammable  liquids  the  Boston  experi- 
ments were  conducted  with  tanks  of  burning  varnish  but  the  same 
principles  seem  to  apply  to  tanks  of  burning  oil  the  floating  saw- 
dust forms  a  blanket  that  shuts  off  the  air  from  the  flames  and  the 
lack  of  oxygen  causes  the  fire  to  die  out  the  experiments  were  tried 
with  both  wet  and  dry  sawdust  and  the  dry  material  seemed  to 
extinguish  the  fire  as  quickly  as  the  wet. 


Select  the  kind  of  business  that  suits  your  natural  inclination 
and  temperament,  some  men  are  naturally  mechanics  others  have 
a  strong  aversion  to  machinery  because  they  do  not  understand 
it  some  men  are  imaginative  others  are  purely  practical  some 
prefer  active  work  others  like  sedentary  employment  all  should 
select  those  occupations  that  suit  them  best. 

3 

Certain  Western  railroads  have  long  felt  the  need  of  a  new 
material  for  sleepers  and  they  have  been  experimenting  for  some 
time  past  with  cocobolo  or  Japanese  oak  the  wood  is  so  hard 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  drive  spikes  into  it  and  screwed 
spikes  in  bored  holes  are  used  these  sleepers  will  cost  a  trifle  more 
than  those  made  from  American  oak  but  they  are  expected  to 
last  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  the  reason  for  experimenting  with 
foreign  woods  is  that  native  oak  is  becoming  scarce  and  it  is 
deemed  wise  to  search  in  time  for  a  substitute. 

4 

Hogs  are  splendid  mortgage-lifters  but  farmers  are  just  begin- 
ning to  find  it  out  there  is  never  a  time  that  the  hog  cannot  be 
sold  at  a  profit  and  there  is  surely  no  better  machine  to  condense 
corn  into  a  more  valuable  product  there  is  hardly  a  farm  in  the 
country  that  could  not  profitably  raise  large  numbers  of  hogs  and 
the  only  pity  is  that  farmers  are  so  slow  to  realize  the  fact  all 
the  hog  needs  is  a  chance  to  grow  and  he  will  add  wonderfully 
to  the  wealth  of  the  country. 

Exercise  178 

When  an  adverbial  clause  or  a  participial  adjective  phrase 
is  put  at  the  beginning  of   a  sentence  to  secure   emphasis, 


176  COMPOSITION 

it  is  called  an  initial  clause  or  participial  phrase.  Rewrite 
the  following  from  dictation,  noticing  the  punctuation  of 
initial  elements: 

If  a  city  is  to  be  kept  in  good  condition,  every  citizen  must 
pay  his  share  of  the  expense.  If  the  dreadful  epidemics  are  to 
be  exterminated,  there  must  be  a  good  board  of  health  to  see 
that  everything  is  kept  sanitary.  When  the  health  officers  do 
their  work  well,  the  health  of  the  city  improves.  In  order  that 
the  decrees  of  the  health  department  and  of  the  courts  may  be 
enforced,  there  must  be  a  good  police  department.  Besides 
having  these  advantages,  cities  need  good  streets  and  good  schools. 
Because  all  of  these  good  things  cost  a  great  deal  of  money,  high 
taxes  must  be  levied  to  pay  for  them. 

Rule  4.  —  An  initial  clause  or  participial  phrase  must  be 
set  off  from  the  rest  of  the  sentence  by  a  comma. 


Exercise  179 
Punctuate  the  following: 


Cotton  was  not  very  long  ago  raised  entirely  for  the  fleecy 
product  although  the  seed  used  to  be  considered  worse  than 
rubbish  heaps  there  now  come  from  it  millions  of  dollars  in  profit 
the  disposal  of  the  seed  was  a  matter  of  great  concern  to  the 
ginners  if  it  was  not  hauled  away  to  rot  it  was  usually  dumped 
into  a  neighboring  stream  and  there  it  did  much  harm  even  if 
we  had  the  space  it  would  be  impossible  to  explain  all  the  products 
now  made  from  the  seed  paper  and  an  excellent  meal  for  cattle 
may  be  made  from  the  hulls  but  the  most  important  products 
are  made  from  the  kernels  besides  making  meal  for  cattle  they  are 
readily  converted  into  crude  oil  according  to  the  degree  of  refining 
that  it  receives  this  oil  may  appear  as  oil  for  miner's  lamps  lard 
compounds  or  salad  oils  as  an  illustration  of  the  way  in  which 
modem  manufacturers  utilize  former  waste  products  the  cotton 
seed  is  supreme. 

2 

When  you  sell  your  old  clothes  to  the  ragman  do  you  know 
that  they  come  back  to  you  as  writing  paper  because  the  metal 


PUNCTUATION  177 

buttons  buckles  and  hooks  that  are  often  left  on  the  garments 
cannot  be  converted  into  paper  they  used  to  be  a  source  of 
annoyance  to  the  papermaker  although  the  cloth  sorters  tried  to 
remove  them  before  the  garments  went  into  the  pulp  vats  some 
were  overlooked  if  any  found  their  way  into  the  pulp  they  tore 
holes  in  the  paper  and  often  damaged  the  rollers  in  order  that 
such  danger  may  be  avoided  the  pulp  is  now  passed  through  a 
series  of  magnetized  rakes  to  which  every  bit  of  metal  clings  as 
the  rakes  are  passed  to  and  fro  when  a  quantity  of  such  bits  of 
iron  is  collected  it  is  sent  to  the  foundry  to  return  to  us  in  many 
new  forms. 


Though  clerks  in  offices  banks  and  stores  complain  that  their 
living  expenses  are  increasing  while  their  incomes  are  unchanged 
they  do  little  to  earn  an  increased  income  if  they  perform  their 
duties  faithfully  and  well  if  they  merely  show  their  employers 
that  they  are  good  clerks  they  will  remain  clerks  when  a  man 
is  filling  a  position  acceptably  few  business  firms  will  remove  him 
for  the  purpose  of  experimenting  with  him  in  some  other  place 
if  a  man  wishes  to  secure  and  hold  a  responsible  position  he  must 
show  that  he  is  capable  if  he  desires  to  advance  he  must  keep  on 
constantly  reading  studying  and  discussing  business  as  soon  as 
he  realizes  this  truth  he  will  keep  his  mind  on  the  alert  to 
absorb  anything  pertaining  to  commerce  in  general  and  to  his 
own  business  in  particular  in  order  that  he  may  be  assured  of 
success  he  must  keep  in  touch  with  the  ever  changing  commercial 
conditions  provided  he  does  not  engage  his  mind  with  such  prob- 
lems provided  he  does  nothing  to  attract  the  attention  of  those 
higher  up  provided  he  does  not  try  to  raise  himself  above  average 
ability  he  will  remain  wholly  occupied  in  holding  his  present  place. 

4 
When  the  bubonic  plague  broke  out  in  Porto  Rico  and  Havana 
rats  were  put  to  death  in  great  numbers  along  the  Atlantic  coast 
because  of  the  established  fact  that  the  plague  is  carried  by  rats 
that  infest  the  holds  of  ships  all  ships  that  came  from  the  infected 
ports  to  the  United  States  were  fumigated  for  the  purpose  of  kill- 
ing any  rats  that  might  be  in  the  holds  if  the  rats  are  kept  out  the 
United  States  authorities  have  no  fear  that  the  plague  will  ever 
reach  this  country. 


178  COMPOSITION 

Exercise  180 

Write  five  sentences  containing  initial  participial  phrases. 
Write  five  sentences  containing  initial  adverbial  clauses. 

Exercise  i8i 

The  comma  is  used  to  separate  the  month  from  the  year, 
the  city  from  the  county  or  state,  the  company  from  the 
place  in  which  it  is  operated,  or  the  like;   as. 

In  December,  191 2,  I  wrote  to  you  from  Seattle,  Washington. 

This  use  of  the  comma  indicates  that  words  have  been 
omitted,  the  sentence  above  really  meaning, 

In  December  of  the  year  191 2  I  wrote  to  you  from  Seattle  in 
the  state  of  Washington. 

The  same  use  is  shown  in  such  sentences  as, 

Of  the  three  stenographers  Mary  received  fifteen  dollars  a 
week;  Ellen,  twelve;  Susan,  ten. 

Rule  5.  —  The  comma  is  used  to  indicate  the  omission  of 
words. 

Supply  the  necessary  commas  in  the  following: 

1.  The  bonds  will  be  taken  over  on  or  before  October  i  1934. 

2.  On  January  i  1913  the  company  had  outstanding  $4,000,000 
of  stock  of  the  par  value  of  one  dollar  a  share. 

3.  The  offices  are  at  Salt  Lake  City  Utah. 

4.  The  transaction  was  officially  conducted  between  the 
Power  Bond  &  Share  Co.  New  York  and  the  Pacific  Power  Co. 
Tacoma  Washington. 

5.  A  late  announcement  of  the  Census  Bureau  tells  us  that 
the  center  of  population  of  the  United  States  is  four  and  one- 
quarter  miles  south  of  Unionville  Monroe  County  Indiana. 

6.  Many  mechanical  devices  in  common  use  may  be  traced 
to  the  patterns  furnished  by  nature.  Thus  the  hog  suggests  the 
plow;  the  butterfly  the  ordinar>''  hinge;  the  toadstool  the  um- 
brella; the  duck  the  ship;  the  fungus  growth  on  trees  the  bracket. 

7.  The  per  capita  saving  in  the  banks  of  the  United  States 


PUNCTUATION  179 

in  1820  was  twelve  cents;  in  1830  fifty-four  cents;  in  1840  eighty- 
two  cents;  in  1850  $1.87;  in  i860  $4.75;  in  1870  $14.26;  in  1880 
$16.33;  in  1890  $24.75;  in  1900  $31.78;  in  1910  $45.05;  and  it 
is  still  increasing. 

8.  The  population  in  1820  was  10,000,000  and  in  19 10 
90,000,000. 

9.  Mexico  draws  about  55%  of  her  imports  from  the  United 
States;  Nicaragua  about  50%;  the  other  Central  American  states 
from  35  to  75%;   Venezuela  31%;   Cuba  52%. 

10.  In  one  decade  Germany's  exports  to  Latin-America  have 
shown  an  increase  of  222%;  those  of  the  United  Kingdom  an 
increase  of  115%;  and  those  of  the  United  States  an  increase 
of  130%. 

Write  five  sentences  illustrating  Rule  5. 

Exercise  182  —  Explanatory  Expressions 

There  are  a  number  of  expressions  —  words,  phrases, 
and  clauses  —  which  are  inserted  into  the  sentence  for 
clearness  or  emphasis.  They  add 'a  bit  of  explanation  but 
are  not  absolutely  necessary.  In  other  words,  they  might 
be  omitted,  and  the  sentence  would  still  be  clear.  These 
may  be  of  various  kinds  but  are  all  similar  in  use.  They 
should  be  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  sentence  by 
commas. 

A.  The  apposUive  is  a  word  or  a  group  of  words  that  is 
inserted  to  explain  the  noun  that  it  follows.  (See  Exercise 
80.) 

Explain  the  use  of  the  commas  in  the  following  sentences: 

1.  William  E.  Curtis,  one  of  the  world'' s  ablest  newspaper  corre- 
spondents, in  his  will  expressed  the  hope  that  his  grandson  would 
continue  his  life-work,  a  recital  of  the  good  that  men  had  done  and 
not  of  the  crimes  they  had  committed. 

2.  The  new  device,  the  adding  machine,  has  greatly  lessened 
office  drudgery. 

3.  Wall  street,  the  great  center  of  business  life,  fixes  stock 
prices. 


i8o  COMPOSITION 

4.  The  people  in  moderate  circumstances,  the  excellent  middle 
class  of  a  country,  suffer  most  from  the  strain  of  high  prices. 

5.  The 'Montreal  Tramways  Company,  the  first  company  to 
introduce  pay-as-you-enter  cars,  started  its  business  in  the  winter 
of  1 86 1  with  a  very  simple  equipment,  two  horse-drawn  sleighs. 

6.  The  Early  Gem  musk  melon,  one  of  the  best  shipping  mel- 
ons grown,  is  a  cross  between  the  Rocky  Ford  and  the  Emerald 
Green  varieties. 

7.  In  making  up  our  collections  and  bargain  offers  for  this 
year,  we  have  arranged  to  put  up  a  "Surprise  Box,"  one  hundred 
packages  of  selected  vegetable  and  flower  seeds. 

8.  The  Chinese  Giant,  a  new  variety  of  sweet  pepper,  produces 
branching  plants  about  two  feet  in  height. 

9.  Amundsen,  the  discoverer  of  the  south  pole,  is  a  native  of 
Norway. 

Rule  6.  —  The  comma  is  used  to  separate  an  appositive 
from  the  rest  of  the  sentence. 

Write  five  sentences  illustrating  the  use  of  the  comma  to 
set  off  an  appositive.. 

Exercise  183  — Explanatory  Expressions 

Similar  in  use  to  appositives  are  — 

B.  Words,  phrases,  or  clauses  that  separate  the  subject 
from  the  predicate  verb,  the  verb  from  its  object,  or  the 
like. 

In  the  natural  order  of  the  sentence  the  verb  immediately 
follows  the  subject  and  the  object  follows  the  verb.  When, 
for  the  purpose  of  explanation,  something  is  inserted  between 
the  two,  it  should  be  set  off  from  the  rest  of  the  sentence 
by  commas.  Words  that  are  thus  inserted  are  called  ap- 
positive or  parenthetical  expressions  and  are  illustrated  in 
the  following: 

In  Ohio  and  Kentucky  enterprising  individuals,  evidently  taking 
the  suggestion  from  the  popular  rural  delivery  service,  have  established 
ice  cream  routes.  Ice  cream  wagons  travel  the  country  roads 
at  stated  times  so  that,  with  no  more  trouble  than  is  required  to 
answer  the  postman^s  whistle,  dwxllers  on  the  farms  can  now  secure 


PUNCTUATION  i8i 

the  hot  weather  luxury  at  reasonable  prices.  The  plan,  so  far  as 
one  can  tell  from  present  indications ^  gives  promise  of  meeting 
with  great  success. 

Rule  7.  —  Parenthetical  expressions  should  be  set  off  by 
commas. 

Punctuate  the  following: 


The  politics  of  the  city  as  well  as  those  of  the  nation  must  be 
kept  clean.  The  most  intelligent  men  of  the  community  not  the 
least  intelligent  should  make  our  political  speeches  and  be  our 
political  leaders.  The  very  opposite  we  must  confess  is  what  we 
see  too  often.  Many  business  men  steadily  pursuing  their  own 
ends  during  the  day  feel  that  they  cannot  devote  time  to  politics. 
We  need  not  search  far  to  discover  that  too  many  of  them  even 
if  they  have  the  time  do  not  care  to  give  it.  At  election  the  most 
influential  business  and  professional  men  either  through  lack  of 
interest  or  through  laziness  stay  at  home  instead  of  going  to  the 
polls.  The  men  who  are  elected  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  are  not 
fit  to  hold  office.  The  blame  belongs  every  one  will  agree  to  those 
who  do  not  vote. 

2 

England  as  most  people  know  is  becoming  vastly  interested 
in  the  production  of  cotton  in  the  Soudan.  This  state  of  affairs 
for  more  reasons  than  one  is  a  matter  of  interest  to  the  American 
manufacturer  as  well  as  to  the  American  cotton  planter.  Egyp- 
tian cotton  ranking  next  to  our  own  sea-island  in  length  and 
strength  of  fiber  is  wanted  because  of  the  brilliant  finish  it  gives. 
For  the  manufacture  of  fine  goods  including  sateens  India  linens 
and  mercerized  goods  as  well  as  for  mixing  with  silk  it  has  been 
found  very  valuable.  Cotton  growers  expect  that  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  Assouan  dam  will  eventually  redeem  about  a  million 
acres  from  the  desert  in  Lower  Egypt  and  although  not  more  than 
half  will  probably  be  planted  to  cotton  it  will  increase  Egypt's 
output  about  twenty-five  per  cent.  Our  Department  of  Agri- 
culture after  having  experimented  for  ^ears  has  developed  and 
acclimated  in  California  a  variety  of  Egyptian  cotton  superior 
several  experts  say  to  the  real  Egyptian.  It  now  rests  with  the 
planters  any  one  can  see  to  decide  whether  American  manufac- 
turers will  get  their  fine  cotton  at  home  or  abroad.  —  The  Wall 
Street  Journal, 


i82  COMPOSITION 

3 
For  several  reasons  some  of  them  certainly  unworthy  people  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  are  talking  of  the  perils  of  a  "yellow" 
invasion.  It  is  true  that  in  the  past  various  invasions  have  been 
attended  with  evil  but  civilization  has  passed  on  into  an  age 
when  migrations  even  the  mightiest  that  the  world  has  seen  are 
taking  place  silently  and  steadily  for  the  good  of  all.  There  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  overflow  and  interflow  of  nations 
heretofore  synonymous  with  the  progress  of  humanity  should 
bring  to  us  anything  but  good.  Commerce  is  to  lead  the  van  in 
the  new  movement  of  the  nations  as  it  has  in  the  past  and  the 
merchant  consciously  or  unconsciously  is  going  to  anticipate  and 
guide  the  statesman.  —  The  Commercial  a^id  Financial  Chronicle. 

4 
The  prevailing  spirit  at  least  among  a  certain  class  of  young 
business  men  seems  to  be  that  the  saving  of  little  things  in  the 
course  of  the  day  consumes  time  entirely  out  of  proportion  to  the 
value  of  the  things  saved  but  like  aU  general  rules  it  is  carried  too 
far  by  young  men  who  could  hardly  employ  their  time  to  better 
advantage  than  in  saving  good  though  minor  materials  that 
would  otherwise  be  lost.  The  man  who  originated  .the  idea  prob- 
ably found  it  correct  for  himself  but  like  all  principles  catering 
to  indifference  regarding  details  the  idea  is  too  readily  adopted 
by  many  young  men  who  can  ill  afford  its  practice.  No  one 
wishes  a  man  to  be  parsimonious  but  he  should  not  allow  anything 
to  be  wasted  which  can  with  a  reasonable  exercise  of  effort  be 
saved. 

Exercise  184  —  Explanatory  Expressions 

C.  Independent  elements  are  words,  phrases,  or  clauses  that 
have  no  direct  grammatical  relation  with  any  other  word 
in  the  sentence.  They  are  really  a  kind  of  parenthetical 
expression,  but  have  less  connection  with  the  sentence  than 
those  given  under  B. 

The  following  is  an  argument  against  the  trusts.  The 
italicized  expressions  are  independent  elements.  What  dif- 
ferent kinds  do  you  discover? 

Gentlemen^  the  big  problem  before  us  to-day,  therefore,  is  the 
trusts.     Shall  the  people  control  the  trusts,  or  shall  the  trusts 


PUNCTUATION  183 

control  the  people?  To  state  the  question  differently ^  shall  we  all 
continue  to  keep  a  voice  in  government,  or  shall  we  turn  our 
power  over  into  the  hands  of  a  few  and  let  their  word  be  law? 
This  centralizing  of  power,  hy  the  way,  was  the  evil  men  tried  to 
remedy  by  forming  republics,  and  shall  we  Americans,  do  you 
think  J  be  willing  to  sacrifice  all  that  has  been  gained  for  us  of 
liberty?  The  answer  being  self-evident,  let  us  proceed.  It  seems 
that  the  little  violator  of  law  can  be  punished;  the  big  violator 
cannot,  or,  at  any  rate,  is  not  punished.  The  trusts,  most  people 
know,  are  formed  to  destroy  competition.  Their  reason  for 
destroying  competition,  evidently,  is  to  swell  profits  by  charging 
all  that  the  trade  will  bear.  The  trust,  finally,  is  not  a  method 
of  doing  business,  but  a  scheme  for  levying  tribute. 

Rule  8.  —  Independent  elements  are  separated  from  the 
rest  of  the  sentence  by  commas. 

Punctuate  the  following: 

I 

New  York,  May  12,  19 — . 
Mr.  Thomas  R.  Stevenson, 
5010  Prospect  Ave., 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Dear  Sir: 

You  are  no  doubt  now  planning  your  summer  vacation  before 
you  make  any  new  plans  however  consider  the  opportunity  that 
we  are  offering  you  to  see  a  new  and  marvelously  beautiful  world 
for  little  more  very  likely  than  the  cost  of  an  ordinary  vacation 
at  the  summer  hotel  to  which  you  usually  go. 

The  idea  of  summer  travel  in  the  Tropics  it  may  be  is  new  to 
you  comparatively  few  people  unfortunately  have  yet  awakened 
to  its  possibilities  they  do  not  realize  at  least  not  fully  that  the 
climate  in  Jamaica  Panama  and  the  Central  and  South  American 
countries  is  practically  the  same  throughout  the  year  moreover 
the  transportation  rates  are  much  lower  than  they  are  in  the 
North  and  the  incidental  expenses  of  travel  such  as  carriage  fare 
and  the  cost  of  curios  are  considerably  less  rough  weather  too  is 
almost  unknown  in  the  summer. 

Possibly  as  you  live  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  you  have 
been  considering  a  week's  cruise  of  the  great  lakes  at  an  expense 
certainly  of  $40  or  more  and  along  coasts  that  you  have  seen 
doubtless  many  times  before  we  offer  a  number  of  trips  varying 


i84  COMPOSITION 

in  length  from  twelve  to  twenty-four  days  and  in  cost  from  $50 
to  $130  to  Jamaica  Panama  and  Central  and  South  America  thus 
for  ten  dollars  more  you  may  sail  twice  as  long  pass  shores  much 
more  beautiful  visit  cities  far  more  strange  and  return  with  a 
new  almost  magical  store  of  memories. 

You  are  wondering  perhaps  how  it  is  that  we  can  oiffer  these 
remarkably  low  rates  the  reason  briefly  told  is  that  our  ships 
carry  an  exceptionally  large  amount  of  freight  however  do  not 
think  merely  because  our  ships  carry  freight  that  they  are  not 
splendidly  equipped  for  passenger  travel  on  the  other  hand  they 
are  so  luxuriously  furnished  that  they  are  especially  fitted  for 
tropical  cruises  you  are  missing  an  unusual  opportunity  we  assure 
you  if  you  do  not  more  fully  investigate  our  offer. 

Yours  very  truly, 

2 

We  are  learning  year  by  year  that  as  a  rule  financial  independ- 
ence cannot  be  secured  by  most  men  except  by  saving  the 
savings  bank  is  of  course  the  first  place  to  invest  savings  because 
it  will  receive  small  sums  and  pay  an  interest  on  them  when  a 
man's  savings  however  have  reached  $1000  for  example  what 
shall  he  do  with  his  money  he  has  not  the  time  or  the  knowl- 
edge probably  to  watch  his  investments  he  wishes  therefore 
to  put  his  money  where  it  will  be  safe  where  it  will  earn  a  fair 
rate  of  interest  and  if  possible  where  he  can  on  short  notice 
convert  it  into  cash. 

3 

A  man  is  an  investor  usually  at  least  by  virtue  of  his  savings 
a  woman  on  the  other  hand  invests  because  she  has  received  a 
legacy  this  may  take  the  form  of  course  of  property  securities 
cash  or  life  insurance  it  is  the  function  of  sound  investment 
most  people  know  to  surround  funds  of  this  nature  with  strong 
security  the  selection  of  conservative  investments  it  is  evident 
must  be  made  with  care  those  companies  naturally  that  deal 
in  conservative  securities  are  the  ones  a  prospective  investor 
should  consult. 

4 

Not  long  ago  the  editor  of  a  financial  journal  received  a  letter 
of  inquiry  from  a  woman  she  had  she  said  only  two  thousand 
dollars  if  she  invested  it  as  some  of  her  friends  had  advised  her 
to  do  in  a  well-known  security  she  could  not  live  on  the  proceeds 


PUNCTUATION  185 

she  had  consequently  made  a  connection  with  a  brokerage  house 
and  was  making  a  living  by  buying  and  selling  speculative  stocks 
her  list  by  the  way  showed  a  profit  of  $500  in  four  months  what 
she  wanted  to  know  of  course  was  how  she  could  make  the  gain 
a  second  time  in  effect  she  was  told  to  take  her  profits  and  run 
as  fast  as  she  could  she  will  not  in  all  probability  take  the 
advice  and  in  a  few  months  possibly  weeks  she  will  write  again 
for  help  in  rescuing  her  last  few  hundred  dollars  she  will  have 
learned  at  last  that  the  way  to  keep  her  money  is  to  save  it  but 
she  will  not  by  that  time  in  all  likelihood  have  any  money  to  save. 

Exercise  185  —  Explanatory  Expressions 

D.  The  explanatory  relative  clause. 

Similar  to  the  appositive  is  the  explanatory  relative  clause. 
Like  an  appositive,  it  is  inserted  into  the  sentence  for  the 
purpose  of  explanation  and  is  separated  from  the  rest  of  the 
sentence  by  commas.  Because  of  this  similarity,  it  is  some- 
times called  an  appositive  relative  clause. 

Great  care  must  be  taken  in  punctuation  to  distinguish 
a  clause  that  may  be  omitted  from  the  sentence  without 
destroying  the  meaning  from  one  that  may  not  be  omitted. 
The  appositive  clause  may  be  omitted.  A  restrictive  clause, 
because  it  restricts  the  meaning  of  the  word  it  modifies,  may 
not  be  omitted.  Because  it  is  needed  for  the  sake  of  clear- 
ness, it  is  not  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  sentence  by  com- 
mas. To  distinguish  an  appositive  clause  from  a  restrictive 
clause,  the  former  is  called  a  non-restrictive  clause. 

Notice  the  difference  between  the  following: 

1.  The  Commonwealth  Edison  Company,  which  controls  the 
electric  light  and  power  supply  of  Chicago^  was  organized  in  1907 
by  the  consolidation  of  the  Chicago  Edison  Company  and  the 
Commonwealth  Electric  Company. 

The  sentence  makes  complete  sense  without  the  relative 
clause. 

2.  The  concern  thcU  controls  the  electric  light  and  power  supply 
of  Chicago  is  the  Commonwealth  Edison  Company. 


1 86  COMPOSITION 

The  relative  clause  must  be  used  to  understand  the 
sentence. 

In  (i)  the  relative  clause  gives  an  additional  idea.  In  (2) 
it  limits  or  restricts  the  meaning  of  the  concern.  The  non- 
restrictive  clause  is  shown  in  (i),  the  restrictive  clause  in  (2). 

Dictation  to  illustrate  non-restrictive  clauses: 

It  is  estimated  that  Chicago  annually  uses  93,450,000  gallons 
of  milk,  for  which  it  pays  over  $28,000,000.  To  supply  this 
amount  120,000  cows  are  needed,  which  are  owned  by  12,000 
dairy  farms.  Health  officers  conduct  a  systematic  dairy  farm 
inspection,  which  has  for  its  purpose  the  exclusion  of  diseased 
milk.  Farm  owners,  who  formerly  objected  to  the  inspection,  now 
see  that  cleanliness  is  profitable.  Authorities  have  discovered 
that  milk,  which  easily  absorbs  germs,  is  dangerous  except  when 
produced  under  sanitary  conditions,  and  now  dairies  are  allowed 
to  sell  only  clean,  pure  milk,  which  is  milk  given  by  a  healthy 
cow. 

Phrases  as  well  as  clauses  may  be  restrictive.  In  the 
following  sentences  decide  whether  the  italicized  expres- 
sions are  restrictive  or  non-restrictive.  State  whether  they 
are  phrases  or  clauses.  Do  any  of  the  sentences  need 
commas? 

1.  The  man  wearing  the  hrown  coat  is  my  brother. 

2.  My  brother  bought  a  new  coat  which  is  hrown. 

3.  The  lesson  that  I  take  at  nine  o'clock  is  English. 

4.  In  English  which  I  take  at  nine  o'clock  we  are  studying 
punctuation. 

5.  I  am  going  to  work  in  every  city  that  I  visit. 

6.  I  am  going  to  work  in  any  city  where  I  can  find  employment. 

7.  I  am  going  to  work  in  Denver  where  my  uncle  lives. 

8.  The  house  on  the  hill  is  the  oldest  in  town. 

9.  The  house  that  is  the  oldest  in  town  is  used  as  a  museum. 

10.  The  Franklin  Museum  which  occupies  the  oldest  house  in 
town  is  a  very  interesting  place. 

11.  The  town  museum  is  the  place  that  I  like  to  visit. 

12.  The  chimney  that  was  blown  down  last  night  in  the  storm 
should  have  been  mended  long  ago. 


PUNCTUATION  187 

13.  The  old  ruined  tower  which  has  long  been  a  picturesque 
sight  in  the  village  was  blown  down  last  night. 

14.  We  counted  ten  chimneys  that  were  blown  down  last  night, 

15.  The  stenography  system  that  I  studied  is  Munson's. 

16.  I  think  she  uses  Munson's  which  she  considers  a  good  system 
of  stenography. 

1 7.  Last  year  I  pursued  a  course  in  stenography  which  I  enjoyed 
very  much. 

18.  The  book  that  we  use  in  class  has  a  brown  cover. 

19.  The  only  milk  that  is  fit  to  drink  comes  from  a  clean  dairy. 

20.  Systematic    inspection   has    been    carried    on    which    has 
residted  in  securing  better  milk. 

Rule  9.  —  A  non-restrictive  clause  should  be  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  sentence  by  commas. 

Exercise  186 

Punctuate  the  following: 

1.  We  have  an  enormous  crop  of  cotton  the  value  of  which  is 
estimated  at  one  billion  dollars. 

2.  "The  root  of  the  mail  order  evil  is  the  idea  which  the 
retail  mail  order  houses  have  been  able  somehow  to  instill  into 
the  minds  of  the  buying  public  that  the  local  merchants  ask  ioo 
much  for  their  goods." 

3.  Mr.  Hilton  who  was  sales  manager  at  that  time  induced 
the  company  to  adopt  this -system.  ^ 

4.  The  lecture  will  be  delivered  by  Mr.  Brenton  who  is  the 
head  of  the  advertising  department  of  Whitlock  &  Co. 

5.  Our  dog  ^  whose  fur  was  wet  by  his  plunge  into  the  lake 
came  running  toward  us. 

6.  Genevieve  who  had  always  been  the  leader  in  the  games 
was  not  present. 

7.  A  late  product  of  the  brain  of  George  Westinghouse  who 
was  the  inventor  of  the  air  brake  and  numerous  electrical  devices 
is  an  air  spring  for  automobiles.  This  little  article  has  been 
patented  by  Mr.  Westinghouse  who  has  the  sole  ownership.  The 
spring  which  has  already  proved  popular  with  automobile  owners 
fits  over  the  end  of  the  regular  spring  and  "makes  good  roads 
out  of  bad  ones." 

8.  Careful  selection  of  investments  upon  which  the  safety 
of  your  money  depends  is  often  difiicult.     Careful  watching  of 


1 88  COMPOSITION 

investments  which  is  fully  as  essential  is  much  harder.  Let  us 
tell  you  about  our  Investment  Service  which  does  this  watching 
for  you  and  keeps  you  fully  protected. 

9.  As  a  direct  result  of  the  conference  between  the  railroad 
and  steamship  interests  of  the  South-Atlantic  and  Gulf  cotton 
ports  which  was  held  recently  at  Hot  Springs  Va.  an  organiza- 
tion which  will  be  known  as  the  South  Atlantic  and  Steamship 
Cotton  Inspection  Bureau  has  been  created.  The  bureau  will 
have  a  chief  inspector  who  will  supervise  the  conduct  of  its  busi- 
ness at  all  ports  and  will  arrange  for  the  employment  of  the  in- 
spectors. According  to  the  rules  and  regulations  copies  of  which 
have  been  received  by  the  cotton  agencies  and  the  export  depart- 
ments of  the  various  New  Orleans  firms  any  bale  that  shows 
external  damage  from  water  mud  bad  bagging  or  other  causes 
must  be  condemned  and  its  condition  noted  and  reported. 

10.  How  would  you  like  to  wear  a  hat  that  has  been  handed 
down  through  six  generations  in  each  of  which  it  was  a  treasured 
possession?  The  Italian  peasants  who  love  finery  are  proud  to 
do  that  very  thing.  Very  few  of  the  poorer  people  who  live  in 
Italy  own  a  hat.  When  you  see  a  beautifully  woven  Leghorn  hat 
which  is  also  very  dirty  on  the  head  of  a  little  peasant  child  you 
may  be  pretty  sure  that  she  is  celebrating  her  birthday  by  wear- 
ing the  family  heirloom.  These  hats  which  are  sometimes  willed 
to  a  favorite  relative  and  which  in  some  instances  go  the  round 
of  the  family  are  considered  almost  priceless.  It  is  a  frequent 
sight  along  the  dusty  roads  outside  the  little  towns  to  see  untidy 
old  women  who  are  sauntering  along  twisting  twine  as  they  go 
all  vanity  under  the  flopping  brim  of  an  antiquated  hat.  This  is 
almost  the  only  souvenir  that  tourists*  money  cannot  buy.  —  The 
Chicago  Tribune. 

Exercise  187  —  Explanatory  Expressions 

E.  Unless  the  subordinate  element  that  comes  at  or  near 
the  close  of  the  sentence  is  very  closely  connected  with 
the  idea  of  the  rest  of  the  sentence,  it  should  be  set  off  by 
commas;   as, 

A  signature  clerk  will  easily  recognize  any  alteration  in  a  sig- 
nature, although  thousands  of  checks  pass  through  his  hands  daily. 

He  gave  a  statement  of  the  affairs  of  the  company,  explaining 
that  he  wished  to  make  a  loan. 


PUNCTUATION  189 

Rule  10. — An  adverbial  clause  or  a  participial  phrase 
coining  at  the  end  of  the  sentence  should  be  set  off  by  a 
comma. 

Punctuate  the  following: 

1.  Popular-priced  goods  are  the  safest  for  a  retail  stock  how- 
ever you  consider  the  subject. 

2.  A  sheriff  seldom  finds  large  quantities  of  popular-priced 
goods  on  hand  when  he  comes  to  take  possession  of  any  retail 
store  .although  he  usually  finds  expensive  articles. 

3.  They  bring  higher  prices  relatively  than  the  heavier  things 
even  when  they  are  disposed  of  under  forced  sale. 

4.  The  catalogue  houses  have  little  fear  for  five-and-ten-cent 
stores  because  sixty-eight  per  cent  of  their  business  is  in  big 
goods  such  as  furniture  vehicles  sewing-machines  clothing  and 
relatively  expensive  things.  They  do  not  wish  to  increase  the 
sale  of  popular-priced  articles  although  their  catalogue  may  be 
full  of  them  because  it  costs  them  more  to  pack  one  hammer  or 
trowel  than  the  profits  can  stand. 

5.  Steel  conditions  remain  about  as  they  have  been  for  several 
weeks  excepting  that  the  price  of  rails  has  been  advancing  for 
the  last  few  days. 

6.  Steel  men  are  of  the  opinion  that  to  increase  prices  too 
rapidly  would  spoil  a  good  market  because  most  of  the  mills  are 
so  filled  up  with  orders  that  they  would  not  be  able  to  take 
advantage  of  increased  quotations  for  some  time  to  come. 

7.  The  steel  business  for  the  last  three  months  has  been  very 
encouraging  as  it  shows  that  railroads  are  dropping  their  policy 
of  waiting  until  the  last  minute  to  buy.  It  will  probably  mean 
more  normal  operation  of  mills  instead  of  spasmodic  workings  as 
has  been  the  case  for  the  last  few  years. 

8.  Boraxated  soap  chips  will  benefit  your  tableware  and  your 
hands  making  dishwashing  a  pleasure  instead  of  a  task. 

9.  The  man  who  works  to  the  limit  of  his  physical  powers  is 
as  foolish  as  the  manufacturer  who  immediately  invests  all  his 
profits  in  his  business  neglecting  to  have  a  reserve  fund  for  unex- 
pected demands. 

10.  A  wide-awake  manager  tries  plan  after  plan  testing  and 
re-testing  them  until  he  can  apply  them  to  his  company^s  needs. 

Write  four  sentences  illustrating  Rule  10. 


I90  COMPOSITION 

Exercise  i88 

Be  able  to  justify  the  use  of  each  punctuation  mark  in 
the  following  selection  from  The  Washington  Star: 

The  Dead  Letter  Sale 

Ten  thousand  pieces  of  mail  matter  in  the  dead  letter  sale! 
That  means  10,000  extremely  careless  people  who  have  tried  to 
use  the  postal  service  during  the  last  year  and  whom  all  the 
expertness  of  the  postal  officials  has  not  been  able  to  assist  in 
getting  their  letters  and  packages  to  their  destinations.  Come 
to  think  of  it,  that  means  a  remarkable  degree  of  thoughtlessness 
and  inattention  to  detail  on  the  part  of  the  senders  of  mail  matter. 

It  would  naturally  seem  that  any  one  intrusting  a  letter  or  a 
parcel  to  the  post  would  make  sure  of  a  properly  written  address 
or  a  sufficient  wrapping,  but  the  experience  of  many  years  proves 
that  a  large  percentage  of  people  are  either  too  much  in  a  hurry 
or  too  trustful  to  the  carefulness  and  shrewdness  of  the  postal 
authorities  to  attend  to  these  details  themselves.  A  good  many 
senders  of  mail  matter  forget  that  their  own  particular  item  is 
only  one  of  millions,  that  it  is  handled  speedily  and  often  roughly, 
that  it  must  travel  perhaps  hundreds  of  miles  and  be  shifted  about 
from  hand  to  hand,  and  that  in  this  course  strings  will  be  untied, 
seals  broken,  and  flimsy  wrappings  lost. 

But  the  chief  difficulty  lies  in  illegible  addressing.  By  no 
means  all  of  the  dead  letter  pieces  have  been  sent  by  iUiterate 
people  struggling  with  their  chirography.  It  is  not  a  lack  of 
education,  but  a  lack  of  care,  that  is  the  root  of  the  trouble.  Again, 
comparatively  few  people  take  the  precaution  to  write  the  name 
and  address  of  the  sender  on  mail  matter  or  give  any  indication 
of  the  sort  to  enable  the  post-office  to  return  it,  in  case  it  cannot 
be  delivered.  If  this  warning  were  observed,  the  annual  dead 
letter  sales  would  be  of  trifling  proportions. 

Why  is  there  no  comma  after  each  of  the  following? 

1.  getting  their  letters  (Sentence  2) 

2.  properly  written  address  (Sentence  4) 

3.  too  much  in  a  hurry 

4.  forget  (Sentence  5) 

5.  hundreds  of  miles 

6.  mail  matter  (Sentence  9) 


PUNCTUATION  191 

Exercise  189 

Study  the  punctuation  in  the  following  selections  from 
The  Wall  Street  Journal;  then  write  them  from  dictation: 


Trouble  in  Introducing  Steel 

"Strange  as  it  now  seems,"  said  one  of  Carnegie's  "young 
men,"  now  the  vice-president  of  a  large  and  prosperous  corpora- 
tion in  New  York,  "in  the  early  days  of  the  steel  industry  we  had 
the  greatest  difficulty  in  the  world  in  weaning  the  old  manu- 
facturers away  from  the  use  of  wrought  iron/  though  they  ad- 
mitted the  superiority  of  steel.  They  would  look  at  it,  test  it, 
and  agree  that  it  seemed  to  possess  all  the  desirable  qualities 
claimed  for  it,'  but  it  was  more  or  less  untried  by  time,  and  they 
preferred  to  stick  to  the  old  wrought  iron,  with  which  they  were 
familiar. 

"I  remember  one  old  chap  with  whom  I  had  wrestled  long, 
but  in  vain,  coming  into  my  office  and  picking  up  a  long,  soft 
steel  rivet,  which  had  been  bent  double  and  hammered  flat. 

"^How  many  did  you  break  in  making  this?  '  he  asked,  picking 
it  up  and  examining  it  curiously. 

"'That's  the  first  one  we  hammered  over,  and,  what  is  more 
to  the  point,  we  can  do  it  with  all  steel  of  that  type,'  I  replied. 

"The  polite  incredulity  in  his  face  stirred  my  professional 
pride,  and  I  said,  '  If  I  let  you  go  to  the  mills,  pick  out  a  dozen  of 
those  rivets  just  as  they  come  from  the  rolls,  and  hammer  them 
with  your  own  hands,  will  you  use  that  steel  hereafter,  if  it  comes 
up  to  the  test  ? ' 

"He  said  he  would,  and  the  rest  was  easy,  for  it  is  much  easier 
not  to  break  than  to  break  that  kind  of  steel.  Before  long  the 
old  man  came  back  with  perspiration  dripping  from  the  end  of 
his  nose  but  with  the  light  of  conviction  shining  in  his  eye.  The 
firm  had  a  new  customer." 

2 

Conservation 

Leslie  M.  Shaw,  former  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  was  in  New 
York,  attending  a  meeting  of  a  board  of  which  he  is  a  member. 
Something  was  said  about  the  present-day  discussion  of  money 


192  COMPOSITION 

power,  and  Shaw  said  that  it  reminded  him  of  a  speech  he  had 
made  in  Seattle  in  the  campaign  of  1896. 

"I  was  speaking  to  a  filled  hall  and  had  almost  finished/'  said 
Shaw,  "when  a  long- whiskered  man  arose  about  the  middle  of 
the  hall  and  held  up  his  hand,  saying  he  wanted  to  ask  a  question. 

''^Go  ahead,'  I  said. 

'^^How,  then,  Mr.  Speaker,  do  you  explain  the  unequal  distri- 
bution of  wealth? '  was  his  question. 

*' When  I  answered  him  with,  *In  the  same  way  that  I  explain 
the  unequal  distribution  of  whiskers,'  bedlam  broke  loose. 

"As  soon  as  I  could  get  quiet  restored,  I  said:  'Now  don't 
think  I  returned  the  answer  I  did  to  make  fun  of  your  whiskers. 
You  will  observe  that  I  have  no  whiskers,  as  I  dissipate  them  by 
shaving  them  off.  Nature  gives  me  abundance  of  whiskers,  and, 
if  I  conserved  them  as  you  do,  I  also  should  be  abundantly  sup- 
plied. Now,  it  is  the  same  way  with  money.  The  man  who 
conserves  his  money  has  more  than  his  share,  as  with  whiskers; 
while  the  man  who  dissipates  his  money  is  without  his  allotment.' " 

Exercise  190  —  The  Semicolon  (;) 

The  semicolon  is  used  between  the  propositions  of  a  com- 
pound sentence  when  no  coordinate  conjunction  is  used. 
(See  Exercise  176,  2.) 

It  is  not  work  that  kills  men;  it  is  worry. 
It  is  important   not  to  overdo   this  use  of   the  semicolon. 
Do   not   use   it   unless  the  two   principal  clauses  of  the 
sentence  taken  together  easily  form  one  idea. 

Especial  care  must  be  taken  not  to  confuse  coordinate 
conjunctions  and  conjunctive  adverbs.  The  following  are 
conjunctive  adverbs:  then,  therefore,  consequently,  moreover, 
however,  so,  also,  besides,  thus,  still,  otherwise,  accordingly. 
When  they  are  used  to  join  principal  clauses,  they  should 
be  preceded  by  a  coordinate  conjunction  or  a  semicolon;  as, 

Fruit  was  plentiful,  and  therefore  the  price  was  low. 
Fruit  was  plentiful;  therefore  the  price  was  low. 

When  there  is  a  series  of  phrases  or  clauses,  each  of  which 
is  long   and  contains  commas  within   itself,  the  sentence 


PUNCTUATION  193 

becomes  clearer  if  the  members  of  the  series  are  separated 
by  semicolons  instead  of  by  commas;    as, 

You  know  how  prolific  the  American  mind  has  been  in  inven- 
tion; how  much  civilization  has  been  advanced  by  the  steam- 
boat, the  cotton-gin,  the  sewing-machine,  the  reaping-machine, 
the  typewriter,  the  electric  light,  the  telephone,  the  phonograph. 

Write  the  following  from  dictation : 


No  man  can  deny  that  the  lines  of  endeavor  have  more  and 
more  narrowed  and  stiffened;  no  one  who  knows  anything  about 
the  development  of  industry  in  this  country  can  fail  to  have 
observed  that  the  larger  kinds  of  credit  are  more  and  more  difficult 
to  obtain,  unless  you  obtain  them  upon  the  terms  of  uniting  your 
efforts  with  those  who  already  control  the  industries  of  the  country; 
and  nobody  can  fail  to  observe  that  any  man  who  tries  to  set  him- 
self up  in  competition  with  any  process  of  manufacture  which 
has  been  taken  under  the  control  of  large  combinations  of  capital 
will  presently  find  himself  either  squeezed  out  or  obliged  to  sell 
and  allow  himself  to  be  absorbed.  —  Woodrow  Wilson:  The  New 
Freedom, 

2 

If  the  total  amount  of  savings  deposited  in  the  savings  banks 
were  equally  divided  among  the  population  of  the  country,  the 
amount  apportioned  to  each  person  in  1820  would  have  been 
twelve  cents;  in  1830,  fifty-four  cents;  in  1840,  eighty-two  cents; 
in  1850,  $1.87;  in  i860,  $4.75;  in  1870,  $14.26;  in  1880,  $16.33; 
in  1890,  $24.75;  in  1900,  $31.78;  in  1910,  $45.05,  and  it  is  steadily 
increasing.  Remember  the  fact  that  the  population  had  increased 
from  10,000,000  in  1820  to  over  90,000,000  in  1910;  the  "rainy 
day"  money,  therefore,  assumes  gigantic  proportions. 

3 
In  Germany,  says  The  Scientific  American ,  wood  is  too  expensive 
to  be  burned,  and  it  is  made  into  artificial  silk  worth  two  dollars 
a  pound  and  bristles  worth  four  dollars  a  pound;  into  paper, 
yarn,  twine,  carpet,  canvas,  and  cloth.  Parquet  flooring  is  made 
from  sawdust;  the  materials  may  be  bought  by  the  pound  and 
then  mixed,  so  that  the  householder  can  lay  his  own  hardwood 
floors  according  to  his  individual  taste  and  ingenuity. 


194  COMPOSITION 

4 
The  country  gentlemen  and  country  clergymen  had  fully  ex- 
pected that  the  policy  of  these  ministers  would  be  directly  opposed 
to  that  which  had  been  almost  constantly  followed  by  William; 
that  the  landed  interest  would  be  favored  at  the  expense  of  trade; 
that  no  addition  would  be  made  to  the  funded  debt;  that  the 
privileges  conceded  to  Dissenters  by  the  late  king  would  be  cur- 
tailed, if  not  withdrawn;  that  the  war  with  France,  if  there 
must  be  such  a  war,  would,  on  our  part,  be  almost  entirely  naval; 
and  that  the  government  would  avoid  close  connections  with 
foreign  powers  and,  above  all,  with  Holland.         — Macatday. 

Exercise  191  —  The  Colon (:) 

The  colon  is  always  used  to  indicate  that  something  of 
importance  follows,  usually  an  enumeration  or  a  list  of 
some  kind,  or  a  quotation  of  several  sentences  or  para- 
graphs; as, 

1.  Three  things  are  necessary:  intelligence,  perseverance,  and 
tact. 

2.  The  buffalo  supplies  them  with  almost  all  the  necessities 
of  life:  with  habitation,  food,  and  clothing;  with  strings  for  their 
bows;  with  thread,  cordage,  and  trail-ropes  for  their  horses;  with 
coverings  for  their  saddles;  and  with  the  means  of  purchasing  all 
that  they  desire  from  traders. 

3.  Quoting  from  the  current  number  of  the Magazine,  he 

read:  (four  paragraphs). 

Punctuate: 

1.  For  the  first  fifty  miles  we  had  companions  with  us  Troche 
a  little  trapper  and  Rouville  a  nondescript  in  the  employ  of  the 
fur  company. 

2.  About  a  week  previous  four  men  had  arrived  from  beyond 
the  mountains  Sublette  Reddick  and  two  others. 

3.  Reynal  was  gazing  intently  he  began  to  speak  at  last 
"Many  a  time  when  I  was  with  the  Indians  I  have  been  hunting 
gold  all  through  the  Black  Hills  there's  a  plenty  of  it  here  you 
may  be  certain  of  that  I  have  dreamed  about  it  fifty  times  "  etc. 

4.  Objects  familiar  from  childhood  surrounded  me  crags  and 
rocks  a  black  and  sullen  brook  that  gurgled  with  a  hollow  voice 
among  the  crevices  a  wood  of  mossy  distorted  trees. 


PUNCTUATION  195 

Exercise  192 

The  colon  is  used  after  thus,  as  follows j  the  following,  or 
similar  expressions;   as, 

Name  the  adverbs  in  the  following:  He  left  hurriedly  rather 
early  in  the  morning. 

The  colon  is  not  used  after  namely,  as,  that  is,  for  example, 
for  instance,  and  the  like.  Such  expressions  are  preceded 
by  the,  semicolon  and  followed  by  the  comma. 

Punctuate  the  following: 

1.  The  Christmas  presents  that  he  wants  are  the  following 
a  toy  train  a  toy  automobile  a  toy  circus  and  a  printing  press. 

2.  Do  the  exercise  thus  first  lunge  to  the  left  second  raise  the 
arms  forward  and  third  wind  the  wand. 

3.  We  are  offering  for  sale  three  residences  of  the  size  that  you 
wish  namely  438  Bishop  Ave  1614  Winchester  St  and  2015  Logan 
Square. 

4.  The  following  are  the  two  that  we  liked  best  438  Bishop 
Ave  and  2015  Logan  Square. 

5.  One  use  of  the  comma  is  to  set  off  an  appositive  for  example 
Mr  Kearne  the  buyer  has  left  the  city. 

6.  The  comma  is  used  to  set  off  an  independent  adverb  as 
We  have  not  yet  decided  however  when  we  shall  leave. 

7.  The  plan  is  this  I'll  do  the  work  and  you  pay  for  the  materials. 

8.  The  officers  are  as  follows  Edward  Lawrence  for  President 
John  Kelly  for  Secretary  and  Fred  Morrison  for  Treasurer. 


Exercise  193  —  The  Dash( — ) 

The  dash  is  used  to  separate  parenthetical  expressions  that 
have  very  little  connection  with  the  rest  of  the  sentence;  as, 

In  New  York  the  Harlem  River  tunnel  was  comparatively  a 
simple  one,  but  the  first  East  River  tunnels  —  the  two  subway 
tubes  from  the  Battery  to  Brooklyn  —  presented  all  the  difi&culties 
known  to  subaqueous  construction. 

These  tunnels  extend  on  under  the  great  Pennsylvania  terminal 
building  —  another  of  the  same  decade's  accomplishments  —  to 
East  Thirty-fourth  Street. 


196  COMPOSITION 

The  dash  is  also  used  to  indicate  a  sudden  change  or  break 
in  the  thought;  as, 

1 .  When  the  millennium  comes  —  if  it  ever  does  —  all  of  our 
problems  will  be  solved. 

2.  "I  believe  —  "  began  the  lawyer. 

"Believe!''  interrupted  his  client.  "I  don't  want  you  to 
believe.     I  want  you  to  know." 

The  dash  is  used  before  a  word  that  summarizes  the  pre- 
ceding part  of  the  sentence;  as, 

He  had  robbed  himself  of  the  most  precious  thing  a  man  can 
have  in  business  —  his  friends. 

After  a  comma  the  dash  has  the  effect  of  lengthening  the 
separation;  as. 

One  thing  the  Puritans  desired,  —  freedom  to  worship  God. 

Exercise  194  —  Parenthesis  Marks  () 

Parenthesis  marks  are  used  to  enclose  explanatory  expres- 
sions that  are  not  an  essential  part  of  the  sentence;  as, 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  estimates  that 
the  receipts  of  cattle  at  the  six  leading  markets  (Chicago,  St. 
Louis,  Kansas  City,  South  Omaha,  St.  Joseph,  and  Sioux  City) 
from  January  i  to  August  i  of  this  year  are  15  per  cent  less 
than  they  were  in  the  corresponding  period  of  last  year. 

Wrong.  —  Do  not  use  parenthesis  marks  to  cancel  a  word 
or  a  passage.  A  line  should  be  drawn  through  a  word  that  is 
wrong. 

Bring  to  class  five  sentences  that  illustrate  the  correct 
use  of  parenthesis  marks. 

Exercise  195  —  The  Hjrphen  (-) 

The  hyphen  is  used  when  a  word  has  been  divided.  It  is 
always  used  at  the  end  of  the  line  and  never  at  the  beginning. 

When  several  short  words  are  taken  together  to  form  one 
word,  they  are  hyphenated;  as, 


PUNCTUATION  197 

a  one-hundred-pound  bag  of  coffee 

As  a  rule,  when  two  words  taken  together  are  each  accented, 
they  must  be  written  with  the  hyphen.  When  only  one  is 
accented,  no  hyphen  is  used;  as, 

follow-up,  first-class,  self-reliant,  railroad,  steamship 

As  a  rule,  nouns  which  are  compounded  of  a  participle 
and  a  noun  use  the  hyphen;  as, 

talking-machine,  driving-wheel 

When  fractions  are  written  out,  the  hyphen  is  used;   as, 

one-third,  three-fifths 

In  other  numerals  expressing  a  compound  number  the 
hyphen  is  also  used;  as, 

twenty-one,  sixty-six 

Exercise  196 
Selections  for  dictation  taken  from  Harper^s  Weekly: 

I 
The  Secret  Blotter 

Every  foreign  office  acts  on  the  theory  that  an  army  of  spies 
is  constantly  on  the  alert  to  steal  its  secrets,  and  infinite  pre- 
cautions are  taken  to  baffle  their  efforts.  Shortly  after  blotting 
paper  was  first  used,  it  was  discovered  that  it  was  quite  possible 
to  cause  a  blotting  pad  to  give  up  jealously  guarded  secrets  by 
simply  holding  it  in  front  of  a  mirror.  Long  after  the  commercial 
world  had  forgotten  the  existence  of  such  a  thing,  the  British 
Foreign  Office  used  a  sand  shaker  to  dry  its  important  written 
documents.  Afterward  a  specially  manufactured  black  blotting 
paper  was  used,  but  this  was  not  found  to  be  absolutely  spy-proof, 
and  a  return  to  the  sand  shaker  was  being  considered  when  some 
one  suggested  the  simple  expedient  of  a  small  absorbent  roller. 
These  rollers  have  since  been  used  for  drying  diplomatic  docu- 
ments. When  such  a  roller  has  been  run  up  and  down  and  across 
a  document  once  or  twice,  the  cleverest  spy  in  the  world  is  at 
liberty  to  try  to  decipher  the  impressions. 


1 98  COMPOSITION 


A  Mummy's  Doll 

There  is  a  doll  in  the  British  Museum  that  is  more  than  three 
thousand  years  old.  When  some  archaeologists  were  exploring 
an  ancient  Egyptian  tomb,  they  came  upon  a  sarcophagus  con- 
taining the  mummy  of  a  little  princess  seven  years  old.  She  was 
dressed  and  interred  in  a  manner  befitting  her  rank,  and  in  her 
arms  she  held  a  little  wooden  doll.  The  inscription  gave  the  name, 
rank,  and  age  of  the  little  girl  and  the  date  of  her  death,  but  it 
said  nothing  about  the  quaint  little  wooden  doll.  This,  however, 
told  its  own  story;  it  was  so  tightly  clasped  in  the  arms  of  the 
mummy  that  the  child,  it  was  evident,  had  died  with  her  beloved 
doll  in  her  arms.  The  doll  occupies  a  place  in  a  glass  case  in 
the  museum,  and  there  a  great  many  English  children  go  to  gaze 
upon  it. 


JcA^ 


//^^f 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  CLEAR  SENTENCE 

Business  men  like  to  talk  of  brevity.  They  tell  you  that 
a  talk  or  a  letter  must  be  brief.  What  they  really  mean  is 
that  the  talk  or  the  letter  must  be  concise;  that  it  must 
state  the  business  clearly  in  the  fewest  possible  words. 
Don't  omit  any  essential  fact  when  you  write,  but  don't 
repeat.  If  you  can  express  an  idea  in  ten  words,  don't  use 
twenty.  In  a  later  exercise  we  shall  meet  the  sentence. 
The  size  of  the  crops  is  always  important,  and  it  is  especially 
so  to  the  farmer,  and  this  is  because  he  has  to  live  by  the 
crops.  The  writer  of  that  sentence  was  very  careless.  He 
had  a  good  idea  and  thought  that,  if  he  kept  repeating 
it,  he  would  make  it  stronger.  Just  the  reverse  is  true. 
The  sentence  may  be  expressed  in  a  very  few  words:  The 
size  of  the  crop  is  vitally  important  to  the  farmer. 

If  you  wish  to  secure  conciseness  of  expression,  be  espe- 
cially careful  to  avoid  joining  or  completing  thoughts  by  these 
expressions:  and,  so,  why,  that  is  why,  this  is  the  reason, 
and  everything. 

In  this  chapter  we  shall  consider  some  of  the  larger  faults 
that  should  be  avoided  in  sentences. 

Exercise  197  —  Unity  of  the  Sentence 

Give  the  definition  of  a  sentence. 

How  many  thoughts  may  one  sentence  express? 

What  is  likely  to  happen  when  two  thoughts  are  joined 
by  and?  What,  then,  is  the  danger  in  using  the  compound 
sentence? 


200  COMPOSITION 

The  compound  sentence  is  good  to  use  to  express  certain 
ideas,  especially  the  contrast;  as, 

It  is  not  work  that  kills  men;   it  is  worry. 
It  is  not  the  revolution  that  destroys  the  machinery,  but  the 
friction  [but  it  is  the  friction]. 

The  sentences  which  most  clearly  and  easily  give  us  one 
thought  are  the  simple  and  the  complex  sentences. 

Compare  the  following  sentences.  Which  of  them  leave 
one  idea  in  your  mind? 

The  tongue  is  a  sharp-edged  tool. 

A  sharp  tongue  is  the  only  edged  tool  that  grows  keener  with 
constant  use. 

A  sharp  tongue  is  like  an  edged  tool,  and  it  grows  keener  with 
constant  use. 

Exercise  198 

The  following  is  wordy.  Rewrite  it,  condensing  as  much 
as  possible.  Use  simple  and  complex  sentences  rather  than 
compound. 

In  the  early  summer  the  corn  crop  frequently  seems  to  be  very 
poor,  and  so  reports  begin  to  circulate  that  corn  will  be  high  in 
the  autumn,  but  when  the  autumn  really  comes.  Wall  Street, 
that  great  center  of  business  life,  begins  to  see  that  the  reports 
have  been  greatly  exaggerated  and  that  crops  really  will  be  very 
good,  and  so  business  begins  to  pick  up.  The  size  of  the  crop 
largely  settles  the  volume  of  the  next  season's  business,  because 
so  great  a  part  of  the  world's  business  activity  is  made  up  of  buy- 
ing and  selling  the  actual  potatoes  and  com  and  wheat  and  cattle 
or  the  products  made  from  these,  and  when  the  crop  is  poor  there 
are  a  great  many  people  concerned,  because  they  will  be  poor 
just  as  the  crops  are  poor,  and  this  applies  to  the  farmer  as  well 
as  to  the  dealer. 

The  size  of  the  crops  is  always  important,  and  is  especially  so 
to  the  farmer,  and  this  is  because  he  has  to  live  by  the  crops.  A 
man  may  be  living  in  the  city  and  working  for  a  salary  and  begin 
to  see  that  his  work  is  not  supporting  him,  and  if  he  is  an  ambi- 
tious man,  he  will  change  his  occupation.  This  the  farmer  cannot 
do  because  he  has  made  an  enormous  investment;    in  the  first 


r 


THE  CLEAR  SENTENCE  201 


place,  he  has  invested  in  his  land,  and  then  in  his  seed  and  farm 
implements,  and  this  investment  often  means  all  the  available 
money  the  farmer  has,  and  often  it  means  a  mortgage  on  his  farm. 
He  puts  the  mortgage  on  his  farm  in  hope  of  getting  a  good  crop, 
and  when  his  hope  is  not  realized,  he  is  in  trouble,  because  he 
may  lose  his  whole  farm  if  he  cannot  pay  the  installments  of  inter- 
est due  on  his  mortgage;  but  then,  on  the  other  hand,  if  we  con- 
sider the  other  side  of  the  question,  when  the  crop  is  large,  the 
situation  is  altogether  different.  Even  if  the  farmer  has  put  a 
mortgage  on  his  farm,  he  gets  enough  money  from  his  produce 
to  pay  the  debt  of  that  mortgage,  and  he  need  not  worry  how  he 
is  to  live  during  the  next  winter. 

The  town  merchants  depend  on  a  good  crop,  because,  if  the 
farmer  has  not  a  good  return  from  his  fields,  he  •  will  have  almost 
no  ready  money,  and  so  he  cannot  buy  much  clothing  or  household 
furnishings.  In  Iowa,  for  instance,  there  is  a  little  town  in  the 
center  of  a  corn-raising  community,  and  it  is  here  that  the  farm- 
ers congregate  to  do  their  buying,  and  in  this  town  there  is  quite 
a  large  department  store,  and  it  is  run  by  a  woman.  She  does 
most  of  her  buying  in  the  autumn  and  she  prefers  to  do  it  person- 
ally, and  so  she  likes  to  make  a  trip  to  New  York  for  the  purpose, 
but  she  never  sets  out  until  she  knows  that  the  corn  crop  is  good. 
And  the  reason  for  this  is  that  she  knows  that  it  will  cost  her  hun- 
dreds of  dollars  to  make  the  trip  East,  to  stay  at  a  good  hotel,  and 
to  spend  the  requisite  length  of  time  choosing  her  purchases  at 
the  different  wholesale  houses,  and  she  knows  that  if  there  is 
no  corn  crop  she  will  sell  very  few  coats  and  hats  and  lace  cur- 
tains, and  it  will  never  pay  her  to  run  up  her  expenses  into  the 
hundreds  of  dollars,  but  she  will  buy  as  best  she  can  from  the 
drummers,  and  buy  only  a  little,  and  thus  the  size  of  the  crop 
determines  how  much  the  farmer  can  buy,  and,  therefore,  how 
much  the  wholesale  and  retail  dealers  can  sell. 

Exercise  199  —  Subordination  in  the  Sentence 

Sentences  containing  compound  predicates  may  be  made 
more  direct  in  thought  if  one  of  the  verbs  is  changed  to  a 
participle  or  an  infinitive,  because  the  predicate  will  then 
express  only  one  action;  as, 

I.  The  carpenter  threw  down  his  hammer  and  walked  out  of 
the  shop. 


202  COMPOSITION 

2.  Throwing  down  his  hammer,  the  carpenter  walked  out  of 
the  shop. 

3.  I  went  downtown  and  applied  for  the  position. 

4.  I  went  downtown  to  apply  for  the  position. 

Change  the  following  sentences  so  that  one  action  is 
denoted  by  the  predicate  of  each: 

1.  A  teamster  drove  out  of  the  alley  east  of  the  theater  and 
swung  his  horses  directly  in  front  of  a  Madison  street  car. 

2.  The  tongue  struck  the  front  of  the  car  and  bored  a  hole 
in  the  fuse  box. 

3.  The  fire  spread  and  burned  the  roof  of  the  car. 

4.  The  half  dozen  passengers  were  badly  frightened  and  got 
out  quickly. 

5.  Several  people  ran  and  turned  in  a  fire  alarm. 

6.  In  a  few  minutes  the  fire  engines  arrived  and  began  to 
fight  the  flames. 

7.  Crowds  came  from  all  directions  and  silently  watched  the 
flames. 

8.  The  people  poured  out  of  the  theater  and  cheered  the  fire- 
men. 

9.  The  half  dozen  passengers  soon  recovered  and  stood  on  the 
curbstone  in  the  crowd. 

10.  The  firemen  did  their  work  quickly  and  departed  amid 
the  cheers  of  the  crowd. 

Exercise  200  —  Combination  of  Short  Sentences 

Sometimes  short  sentences  are  bad  because  two  or  three 
of  them  are  needed  to  express  one  complete  thought.  If 
that  is  the  case,  they  should  be  combined,  the  most  im- 
portant detail  being  put  into  the  principal  clause,  and  the 
other  details  into  modifiers,  as  in  the  preceding  exercise. 

Make  use  of  — 

1.  Adjectives. 

2.  Adverbs. 

3.  Participial  phrases. 

4.  Infinitives. 

5.  Relative  pronouns. 

6.  Subordinate  conjunctions. 


THE  CLEAR  SENTENCE  203 

Below,  the  first  and  second  sentences  together  make  one 
thought,  which  is  expressed  in  the  third. 

John  is  a  good  reporter. 

That  is  why  he  earns  a  good  salary. 

Because  John  is  a  good  reporter,  he  earns  a  good  salary. 

Combine  the  sentences  of  each  group  below  into  a  single 
sentence,  either  simple  or  complex,  omitting  as  many  words 
as  possible  but  no  ideas: 

1.  We  stayed  at  home  for  two  reasons:  first  of  all,  we  thought 
Baltimore  might  be  unpleasantly  warm.  Then,  the  other  reason 
was  that  we  thought  we  ought  to  economize. 

2.  In  China  the  wedding  takes  place  at  the  bridegroom's 
house.  This  has  been  decorated  with  strips  of  bright  red  paper, 
and  they  have  the  word  '^Hsi"  on  them.  This  means  ''Live  in 
happiness.'' 

3.  First  in  the  procession  come  the  standard  bearers.  They 
are  hired  for  the  occasion.  These  men  have  red  coats  put  on  over 
their  dirty  clothes.     The  men  they  hire  are  usually  beggars. 

4.  Six  years  ago  I  went  sailing  on  Lake  George  with  my  father. 
I  was  ten  years  old  at  that  time.  Two  other  men  went  along  with 
us.  The  boat  that  we  went  in  belonged  to  my  father  and  these 
men. 

5.  The  wind  was  high  and  it  would  come  in  gusts.  This 
made  it  hard  to  sail.  It  shifted  the  sails  so  quickly  that  it  would 
throw  the  boat  over  on  one  side. 

6.  Several  times  the  boat  leaned  over  at  an  angle  of  forty 
degrees.  This  let  the  water  come  in  on  that  side.  When  this 
happened,  we  all  had  to  jump  to  the  other  side.  We  did  this  so 
that  the  boat  would  right  itself. 

7.  The  heart  is  the  most  important  organ  in  the  body.  This 
is  because  if  the  heart  stops  beating,  you  cannot  live.  Besides, 
all  the  other  organs  are  connected  with  it.  It  is  something  like 
the  main  spring  in  a  watch. 

8.  This  is  a  good  machine.  And  since  that's  the  case,  I  don't 
see  why  it  is  that  it  doesn't  work  as  it  should. 

9.  In  every  business  there  are  many  bad  debts.  Some  can 
be  collected  and  others  cannot  be.  This  is  because  the  men  who 
made  them  were  given  credit,  and  they  didn't  have  any  money. 

10.   The  night  was  dark,  and  there  were  no  stars.    The  fisher- 


204  COMPOSITION 

men  stood  on  the  shore,  and  they  gazed  at  the  wild  sea.    A  storm 
had  arisen,  and  they  could  not  go  out  in  their  boats. 


Exercise  201 

As  in  the  preceding  exercise,  rewrite  the  following,  omit- 
ting as  many  words  as  possible,  but  no  ideas.  Use  shorter, 
simpler  expressions  wherever  possible. 


Uncle  Sam  now  has  an  aerial  navy,  but  it's  a  small  one,  and 
foundations  of  it  were  recently  laid.  This  was  done  when  con- 
tracts were  signed  for  the  delivery  of  three  aeroplanes  and  they 
are  the  first  aeroplanes  that  the  United  States  bought.  These 
aeroplanes  are  of  the  latest  development.  They  are  all  capable 
of  rising  from  land  or  water.  They  are  able  also  to  land  on 
water  or  on  the  deck  of  a  ship,  and  they  can  carry  at  least  one 
passenger  and  are  equipped  with  wireless  outfits.  Two  of  them 
are  Curtis  machines  and  the  third  is  a  Wright,  and  they  ranged 
in  price  from  $2,700  to  $5,500. 

2 
The  United  States  produces  more  steel  than  any  two  European 
countries,  and  it  is  continuing  to  produce  more.  Moreover,  it 
has  the  productive  capacity  to  produce  more  than  any  other  three 
or  four  countries  put  together.  This  capacity  is  being  still  further 
increased.  At  the  present  time,  there  is  one  very  important  steel 
company.  It  is  very  large,  and  seems  to  wish  to  monopolize  the 
entire  iron  and  steel  industry.  Even  at  this  time  it  owns  half 
the  principal  plants  that  are  now  producing  steel  and  iron,  and 
controls  half  the  trade  of  the  entire  steel  and  iron  industry,  and 
when  such  a  thing  happens,  it  is  a  matter  of  international  concern. 

3 
Condense   the   following   into   a   single   sentence,   either 
simple  or  complex: 

The  iron  and  steel  industry  is  very  important,  and  it  includes 
a  great  deal.  First,  the  ore  has  to  be  mined,  and  then  the  work 
includes  everything  up  to  making  the  finest  wire  for ,  musical 
instruments.     Or,  to  put  it  another  way,  you  can  say  from  smelt- 


THE  CLEAR  SENTENCE  205 

ing  the  ore  to  building  a  battle  ship.  This  is  a  very  interesting 
occupation  and,  as  said  before,  very  important.  There  is  hardly 
anything  more  interesting  or  important  except  agriculture. 


Exercise  202  —  Dangling  Expressions 

Sometimes  a  sentence  is  not  clear  because  it  contains  a 
participle  which  does  not  modify  anything  in  the  sentence. 
A  participle  is  part  verb  and  part  adjective.  As  a  verb,  it 
expresses  the  idea  of  the  verb  from  which  it  is  derived.  As 
an  adjective,  it  must  modify  a  noun  or  a  pronoun.  The 
important  point  is  that  this  noun  or  pronoun  must  be  ex- 
pressed in  the  sentence  and  not  lie  in  the  mind  of  the  writer, 
as  it  does  in  the  following: 

Riding  from  Saugatuck  to  Holland  last  year,  the  country 
showed  unmistakable  signs  of  lack  of  rain. 

Here  the  writer  means,  We  saw  that  the  country,  etc.,  but 
he  says  that  the  country  rode  from  Saugatuck  to  Holland. 

Again,  an  expression  may  be  used  which  is  really  an  incom- 
plete clause.  Do  not  use  such  a  clause,  unless  the  under- 
stood subject  is  the  same  as  the  subject  expressed  in  the 
independent  proposition. 

Wrong:  When  almost  exhausted,  the  camp  was  reached. 
Right:  When  almost  exhausted,  we  reached  the  camp. 

Recast  the  following  sentences,  correcting  the  dangling 
expressions : 

1.  You  should  not  stop  studying  your  lessons  until  thoroughly 
prepared. 

2.  In  talking  to  the  postman  yesterday,  he  said  that  his  route 
had  been  changed. 

3.  Owing  two  months'  rent,  the  foreman  laid  me  off. 

4.  Before  becoming  a  physician,  the  law  sets  a  very  severe 
examination. 

5.  Having  eaten  our  luncheon  very  hastily,  the  typewriters 
were  soon  clicking  merrily  again. 


2o6  COMPOSITION 

6.  The  difficulty  could  easily  be  settled,  going  about  it  in  the 
right  way. 

7.  Although  determined  to  get  my  money,  the  task  was  harder 
than  I  had  expected. 

8.  Having  installed  an  adding  machine,  our  office  work  could 
be  done  in  half  the  time. 

9.  On  entering  the  car,  the  first  thing  that  caught  my  atten- 
tion was  the  sign  at  the  end. 

10.  Silk  should  be  washed  with  warm  water  and  a  mild  soap, 
being  careful  not  to  rub  it. 

11.  The  house  was  redecorated,  making  it  clean  and  home- 
Hke. 

12.  The  book  should  be  carefully  studied,  reviewing  each 
chapter  after  it  is  read. 

13.  Going  to  work  this  morning,  an  accident  happened. 

14.  Having  entered  college,  Mr.  Brown  watched  his  son's 
progress  with  pride. 

15.  Soon  after  abandoning  the  boat,  it  sank. 

16.  They  say  he  will  be  lame,  caused  by  a  fall  on  the  ice  while 
skating. 

^     17.   While  trying  to  break  the  half  mile  record,  his  back  was 
injured. 

18.  Many  people  object  to  football,  because  in  tackling  the 
boys'  hearts  are  weakened. 

19.  He  did  not  wish  to  take  up  an  extra  study,  thus  lessening 
his  chance  of  being  eligible  for  athletics. 

20.  While  a  child,  my  father  often  told  me  stories  of  Indian 
days. 

21.  Absorbed  all  day  in  superintending  his  work,  in  the  evening 
the  newspaper  brought  him  political  news  enough  to  fill  the  hours 
between  dinner  and  bed-time. 

22.  Discussing  the  happenings  in  the  ward  with  an  old  crony, 
his  daughter  would  often  sit  near  him  listening. 

23.  He  is  failing  in  his  work,  caused  by  his  laziness. 

24.  Although  a  good  tonic,  I  did  not  gain  weight  while 
taking  it. 

25.  In  the  new  telephone,  upon  lifting  the  receiver,  a  ticking 
sound  is  heard. 

26.  Leaving  the  window  open  when  she  went  to  lunch,  of  course 
the  papers  were  disarranged  on  her  return. 

27.  Dictionaries  must  be  returned  to  the  desk  after  using. 


THE  CLEAR  SENTENCE  207 

Exercise  203  —  Pronouns  with  Uncertain  Antecedents 

Sometimes  the  meaning  of  a  sentence  is  not  clear  because 
the  pronouns  have  uncertain  antecedents. 

1.  Sometimes  a  pronoun  may  refer  to  either  of  two 
antecedents;  as, 

Wrong:  He  gave  his  brother  John  the  umbrella  and  then  he 
left. 

Right:   He  gave  the  umbrella  to  his  brother  John,  who  then  left. 

2.  Sometimes  the  sentence  must  be  entirely  recast  and 
a  direct  quotation  used  before  the  pronouns  can  be  made 
clear;   as, 

Wrong:  Tom  told  his  father  that  his  suit  case  was  lost. 
Right:  a.  Tom  said,  '^Father,  your  suit  case  is  lost.'' 
b.  Tom  said,  ''Father,  my  suit  case  is  lost." 

3.  Sometimes  the  pronoun  refers  to  a  word  that  has  not 
been  expressed  or  to  an  idea.  In  that  case,  the  antecedent 
must  be  supplied;  as. 

Wrong:  If  any  one  wishes  to  contribute  to  the  cause,  let  him 
send  it  in  the  enclosed  envelope. 

Right:  If  any  one  wishes  to  contribute  to  the  cause,  let  him  send 
his  contribution  in  the  enclosed  envelope. 

Wrong:  I  wouldn't  wear  mittens.    Nobody  does  that  nowadays. 
Right:    I  wouldn't  wear  mittens.    Nobody  wears  them  nowa- 
days. 

4.  A  sentence  containing  an  indefinite  they  or  it  is  cor- 
rected thus: 

Wrong:  Don't  they  have  street  cars  where  you  live? 
Right:  Are  there  no  street  cars  where  you  live? 

Recast  the  following: 

1.  She  asked  her  mother  if  she  could  go,  and  she  said  she 
thought  she  ought  to  stay  at  home. 

2.  John  told  James  he  was  sure  he  did  not  know  the  office 
that  he  meant. 

3.  George  told  his  father  his  watch  had  stopped. 


2o8  COMPOSITION 

4.  The  manager  asked  the  clerk  to  bring  his  book. 

5.  A  light  touch  is  important  in  a  typewriter,  because  it  makes 
it  easy  to  write  upon  it. 

6.  The  size  of  the  crops  is  important  to  the  farmers,  because 
they  have  to  live  by  them. 

7.  They  decided  to  reorganize  the  company,  which  is  always 
a  difficult  task. 

8.  They  went  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  which  is  an  indica- 
tion that  the  affairs  of  the  company  had  been  poorly  managed. 

9.  There  is  a  boat  on  the  lake  over  which  there  is  a  pleasant 
view,  in  which  there  is  a  club  for  working  girls. 

10.  He  stole  some  money  which  brought  about  an  investigation. 

11.  She  asked  her  aunt  how  old  she  was. 

12.  John  is  famous  for  telling  anecdotes,  and  he  got  it  by 
remembering  every  story  he  reads. 

13.  The  sleighing  party  last  night  was  a  success,  which  is  not 
always  the  case. 

14.  He  told  a  lie,  which  is  a  bad  thing  to  do. 

15.  They  engaged  a  gardener,  which  doubled  their  monthly 
expenses. 

16.  Why  don't  you  get  some  of  that  new  fur  trimming  for 
your  blue  dress? 

17.  They  had  an  accident  on  the  street  car  this  morning. 

18.  In  the  newspaper  it  said  that  the  lecture  would  begin  at 
8:15. 

19.  They  don't  find  iron  in  Illinois,  do  they? 

20.  Do  they  have  the  original  paintings  in  our  art  gallery? 

21.  It  says  ''Closed"  on  that  door. 

22.  It  doesn't  mention  a  bank  draft  in  this  book. 

23.  They  have  a  great  many  foreigners  in  New  York  City. 

24.  John  accompanied  his  brother  to  the  city  where  he  bought 
a  typewriter. 

25.  I  had  expected  to  take  the  9:30  train,  but  I  couldn't  do  it. 

26.  Going  up  to  the  horse  he  put  a  lump  of  sugar  into  his 
mouth. 

27.  In  letter  writing  one  should  always  be  exact  and  arrange 
them  in  the  customary  form. 

28.  Those  hooks  are  not  rust-proof  because  the  back  of  my 
dress  is  stained  with  it. 

29.  The  telephone  is  a  great  convenience  to  all.    They  are 
now  used  in  almost  every  house. 


THE  CLEAR  SENTENCE  209 

30.  As  we  game  down  the  road,  it  sounded  like  a  train,  which, 
as  we  approached,  grew  louder  and  louder. 


Exercise  204  —  Misplaced  Modifiers 

Sometimes  a  sentence  is  not  clear  because  a  modifier  does 
not  stand  close  to  the  word  it  modifies. 

Wrong:  I  can't  even  do  the  first  problem. 
Right:   I  can't  do  even  the  first  problem. 

Change* the  order  of  words  in  the  following  sentences, 
placing  each  modifier  as  closely  as  possible  to  the  word 
which  it  modifies.  Some  of  the  sentences  are  incorrect 
because  they  contain  split  infinitives.     (See  Exercise  92.) 

1.  I  only  waited  for  him  about  ten  minutes. 

2.  She  stood  at  the  window,  trying  to  close  it  with  a  troubled 
face. 

3.  The  city  is  supplied  with  water  from  cold  springs  which 
flow  nearly  a  hundred  million  gallons  of  the  purest  liquid  that  ever 
burst  from  the  earth,  daily .^ 

4.  The  famous  S.  F.  ice  cream  is  made  in  this  factory  con- 
taining fifty  per  cent  pure  cream. 

5.  A  man  should  not  be  allowed^  to  cast  a  vote,  who  cannot 
read  and  write. 

6.  After  taking  the  medicine  for  a  short  time,  the  appetite 
is  improved,  and  a  desire  is  created  for  food,  that  has  not  existed 
before. 

7.  In  real  value,  this  magazine  towers  head  and  shoulders 
over  all  others  to  the  woman  who  is  in  charge  of  her  home. 

8.  There  are  pages  of  fashion  news  and  embroidery  hints  and 
news  articles  of  the  day  that  will  appeal  to  the  husband  and 
father  as  the  others  do  to  the  wife  and  daughter  as  well  as  depart- 
ments for  the  children. 

9.  The  number  of  the  sewing  machine  is  37A  with  a  drop 
head. 

10.  They  neither  are  gentle  nor  well-mannered. 

11.  I  only  heard  about  the  trouble  yesterday. 

12.  He  left  the  same  station  at  which,  thirty  years  before,  he 
had  arrived  very  humbly,  in  his  own  special  car. 

13.  He  urged  his  brother  to  buy  a  home  in  his  letter. 


2IO  COMPOSITION 

14.  The  lighting  system  has  been  developed  to  a  really  remark- 
able degree  of  perfection  for  the  trains. 

15.  The  dynamo  is  so  arranged  that  when  the  train  is  standing 
still  or  only  traveling  twenty  miles  an  hour,  the  lamps  are  lighted 
from  a  storage  battery. 

16.  The  batteries  must  be  large  enough  during  the  run  to  carry 
the  entire  lighting  load. 

17.  Please  send  me  6  Dining  Tables  No.  46  that  extend  to 
ten  feet  as  soon  as  possible. 

18.  Large  trees  grow  on  each  side  of  the  house  which  is  a  ram- 
bling affair  shutting  out  the  light. 

19.  They  decided  to  give  a  bonus  to  the  one  doing  the  best 
work,  amounting  to  fifty  dollars. 

20.  We  had  almost  got  to  the  comer  before  we  saw  the  fire. 

21.  I  don't  ever  remember  having  seen  so  big  a  fire. 

22.  Remember  to  thoroughly  oil  the  machine. 

23.  Do  you  need  to  in  any  way  alter  the  machine? 

24.  If  we  expect  to  completely  fill  the  order  to-day,  we  need 
more  help. 


Exercise  205  —  Omission  of  .Necessary  Words 

Sometimes  a  sentence  is  not  clear  because  a  word  has  been 
omitted  that  is  necessary  .to  the  sense;  as, 

Wrong:  The  two  officers  that  they  elected  are  the  president  and 
secretary. 

Right:  The  two  officers  that  they  elected  are  the  president  and 
the  secretary. 

Wrong:   His  writing  is  as  good  or  better  than  yours. 
Right:  His  writing  is  as  good  as  or  better  than  yours. 

Wrong:  The  library  is  where  we  go  to  read. 
Right:  The  library  is  the  place  where  we  go  to  read. 

State  the  difference  between  the  following  typewriter 
ribbons: 

1.  A  red  and  blue  and  black  ribbon. 

2.  A  red  and  a  blue  and  black  ribbon. 

3.  A  red  and  blue  and  a  black  ribbon. 

4.  A  red  and  a  blue  and  a  black  ribbon. 


THE  CLEAR  SENTENCE  21 1 

Supply  the  omitted  part  in  each  of  the  following: 

1.  I  always  have  and  I'm  sure  I  always  shall  be  considerate 
of  others'  feelings. 

2.  They  have  a  stenographer  and  bookkeeper,  who  are  kept 
busy  all  day. 

3.  I  believe  he  has  already  or  will  soon  begin  the  work. 

4.  The  cushions  of  the  rocker  are  much  softer  than  the  arm- 
chair. 

5.  The  arrangement  of  your  flat  is  much  more  convenient 
than  our  house. 

6.  The  number  of  shelves  in  your  sideboard  is  just  the  same 
as  our  china  closet. 

7.  I  think  the  articles  you  ordered  will  arrive  as  soon  or  sooner 
than  you  expect. 

8.  She  is  as  tall  or  taller  than  you. 

9.  When  your  message  arrived,  I  had  already  or  at  least  had 
decided  to  begin  cutting  the  goods. 

10.  It  may  not  be  better  but  it  is  fully  as  good  as  the  other 
article. 

11.  I  think  you  cook  fully  as  well  if  not  better  than  your  sister. 

12.  His  poems  hold  a  place  in  our  hearts  second  only  to  the 
Bible. 

13.  Your  idea  is  as  good  if  not  better  than  mine. 

14.  We  decided  to  make  the  change  both  for  the  sake  of  health 
and  economy. 

15.  You  will  find  the  armchair  fully  as  comfortable,  if  not 
more  so,  than  the  rocker. 

16.  The  river  is  where  we  had  the  most  fun. 

17.  I  know  you  better  than  Mary. 

18.  She  went  to  the  park  but  I  didn't  care  to. 

19.  We  didn't  object  to  the  scheme  as  much  as  you. 

20.  A  conservatory  is  where  there  are  all  kinds  of  flowers. 


Exercise  206  —  Shift  in  Construction 

Sometimes  the  meaning  of  the  sentence  is  obscure  because 
there  has  been  a  shift  in  construction.  Do  not  change  sub- 
ject, person,  tense,  or  any  grammatical  form  without  a  good 
reason.  Remember  that  and  is  a  coordinate  conjunction. 
If  there  is  an  adjective  before  and,  there  must  be  an  adjec- 


212  COMPOSITION 

tive  after  it.  If  a  clause  precedes,  a  clause  must  follow. 
In  other  words,  and  joins  two  members  of  exactly  the  same 
structure.  And  may  not  join  one  word  and  a  phrase,  nor 
may  it  join  a  prepositional  and  a  participial  phrase.  Both 
members  must  be  alike.  In  the  following  extract,  parallel 
constructions  are  used  correctly.  Be  able  to  tell  what  kinds 
of  elements  are  used  and  how  they  are  parallel. 

To  eat  your  cake  and  keep  it  too;  to  wear  a  gown  with  the  air 
of  originality  and  distinction,  and  keep  a  full  purse;  to  have 
your  house  display  taste  and  refinement,  and  be  praised  as  an 
economical  housewife;  to  dress  your  children  daintily,  and  save 
money  for  their  education  —  use  ABC  transfer  patterns.  By 
their  aid  you  can  make  an  inexpensive  waist  look  like  a  French 
blouse,  have  table  linen  of  unrivaled  elegance,  and  dress  your 
babies  in  the  most  approved  style.  These  patterns  cost,  — 
some  ten,  some  fifteen  cents.  They  cover  the  entire  field  of 
dress,  —  waists,  tunics,  panels,  infants'  clothes,  underwear,  men's 
apparel,  and  neckwear;  and  of  household  articles,  —  towels,  table- 
linen,  and  pillow  tops. 

Recast  the  following  sentences,  correcting  the  shift  of 
construction  in  each: 

1.  In  the  large  department  stores  every  clerk  is  to  report 
on  her  way  to  lunch  and  coming  back. 

2.  When  one  hears  a  cry  of  *'  Fire,"  your  first  thought  is  to  run. 

3.  He  seemed  fond  of  his  work  and  to  have  skill  in  doing  it 
quickly. 

4.  I  decided  on  taking  the  trip  and  to  keep  my  expenses  within 
fifty  dollars  if  possible. 

5.  X  Y  Z  Cleaner  is  good  for  softening  water  and  other 
household  uses. 

6.  Because  of  the  rise  in  the  price  of  meats  and  owing  to  the 
fact  that  grocers  charge  more  for  butter  and  eggs,  people  find  it 
hard  to  live. 

7.  The  ofiice  is  well-heated  and  with  plenty  of  light. 

8.  The  crowds  began  to  watch  the  fire  and  cheering  loudly. 

9.  I  heard  the  opera  last  year  and  have  gone  again  this  year. 
10.   It  was  wonderful  to  see  how  fast  they  worked  and  their 

accuracy. 


THE  CLEAR  SENTENCE  213 

11.  I  can't  decide  whether  to  take  up  stenography  or  if  book- 
keeping is  better. 

12.  He  taught  us  the  principles  of  letter  writing,  and  some- 
what of  advertising  was  taken  up. 

13.  Hoping  that  the  work  progressed,  and  unless  a  landslide 
occurred,  the  Americans  expected  to  remove  5,000,000  cubic 
yards  each  year. 

14.  The  study  of  the  earth  has  always  been  stimulated  by  two 
fundamental  passions  of  humanity  —  a  desire  for  wealth  and 
because  of  their  curiosity. 

15.  He  insists  on  our  taking  the  trip  and  to  go  without 
further  delay. 

16.  In  reviewing,  it  is  well  to  go  over  each  part  of  the  course 
carefully,  and  you  should  make  a  note  of  every  point  which  you 
do  not  understand,  and  let  each  ask  those  questions  which  he 
himself  cannot  answer. 

17.  Mr.  Fitzmorris  is  a  man  of  great  technical  skill  and  who 
has  handled  the  situation  capably. 

18.  It  will  cost  her  hundreds  of  dollars  to  make  the  trip  East 
and  spending  the  requisite  length  of  time  choosing  her  purchases 
at  the  different  wholesale  houses. 

19.  He  had  assumed  control  of  the  office,  planned  the  adver- 
tising, and  the  finances  were  also  directed  by  him. 

20.  We  have  decided  to  go  on  the  excursion  to  the  Capitol 
and  at  the  same  time  visiting  Uncle  John. 


Exercise  207 

What  prevents  clearness  in  the  following? 

1.  The  Federal  Government  began  an  investigation  into  fire 
conditions  in  Europe  in  1907,  through  our  consuls. 

2.  It  cost  $2.39  a  year  for  fire  in  the  United  States  between 
1 901  and  19 10,  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  and  Germany 
does  not  even  pay  nineteen  cents. 

3.  The  number  of  our  fires  is  increasing,  which  is  worse. 

4.  In  ten  years  our  population  has  increased  73  per  cent  and 
134  per  cent  is  the  increase  in  fires. 

5.  Having  considered  the  details,  the  conclusion  is  easily 
drawn  that  fire  is  a  disgrace. 

6.  He  only  gets  to  the  office  at  ten  o'clock. 

7.  Having  settled  the  plan  of  attack,  the  rest  was  simple. 


214  COMPOSITION 

8.  The  manager  warned  him  not  to  make  the  mistake  again 
and  adding  that  mistakes  are  costly. 

9.  To  keep  flannels  from  shrinking,  wash  in  the  following 
way,  and  you  will  find  it  very  satisfactory. 

10.  To  open  a  fruit  jar  run  a  knife  under  the  edge  and  it  comes 
off  easily. 

11.  I  didn't  even  finish  half  the  questions. 

12.  Electric  lights  are  economical,  clean,  and  give  more  light 
than  gas. 

13.  You  should  buy  your  suit  now,  both  for  the  sake  of  econ- 
omy and  style. 

14.  If  in  doubt  as  to  the  best  word,  a  book  of  synonyms 
should  be  consulted. 

15.  The  comma  fault  is  where  two  principal  clauses  are  run 
together  without  a  coordinate  conjunction. 

Rewrite  the  following  so  that  it  will  be  correct,  concise, 
and  clear: 

The  Europeans  were  anxious  for  trade  with  the  East,  for 
they  were  dependent  upon  them  for  spices  and  luxuries.  The 
three  routes  were  through  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  over  the  Suez 
Peninsula,  down  the  Red  Sea,  and  across  to  India.  Another  was 
through  the  Mediterranean  and  then  through  Arabia.  The  other 
was  from  the  Mediterranean  and  then  through  the  Black  Sea  and 
then  by  land  to  India.  It  became  necessary  to  seek  a  new  route 
because  the  Turks  held  Constantinople,  and  all  vessels  had  to  pass 
through  the  Mediterranean,  and  the  Turks  held  this  by  pirates. 
The  first  explorers  were  working  under  the  leadership  of  the  King 
of  Portugal,  and  they  solved  the  problem  by  going  around  Africa 
and  then  to  the  Indies,  but  this  was  too  long,  and  so  explorers 
tried  other  ways,  and  the  result  was  the  discovery  of  America. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  PARAGRAPH 

The  sentences  developing  each  of  the  divisions  of  a  com- 
position make  one  paragraph.  A  paragraph,  therefore,  is 
the  treatment  of  one  of  the  natural  divisions  of  a  subject. 
The  length  depends  on  the  topic  to  be  treated.  Two  cautions 
may  be  given : 

I.  Do  not  write  paragraphs  containing  only  one  sentence. 
Such  paragraphs  do  not  represent  divisions  of  the  subject. 
They  are  simply  statements  which  have  not  been  expanded 
as  they  deserve,  or  they  are  sentences  that  should  be 
placed  with  the  preceding  or  succeeding  sentences  in  order 
to  make  a  good  paragraph.  Some  business  men  use  the 
one-sentence  paragraph  too  frequently  in  their  letters  or 
advertisements.  It  is  usually  a  poor  plan,  because  the 
reason  a  writer  divides  his  composition  into  paragraphs  is 
to  aid  the  reader  to  follow  the  thoughts  he  is  presenting. 
When  the  reader  sees  the  indentation  that  indicates  a  new 
paragraph,  he  thinks  that  the  writer  has  said  all  that  he 
intends  to  say  on  the  topic  in  hand  and  now  intends  to 
open  ^  new  topic.  It  is  confusing  to  find  that  the  new  para- 
graph is  simply  another  sentence  on  the  same  topic  as  the 
preceding  paragraph.  Notice  the  jerky  effect  of  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  a  letter: 

We  are  sending  you  a  coDy  of  our  latest  catalogue,  which  gives 
illustrations  and  prices  of  all  our  stock. 

The  illustrations  are  all  made  from  actual  photographs  and 
are  faithful  in  representing  the  shoe  described. 

Bear  Brand  Shoes  are  shipped  in  special  fiber  cases,  thus  lessen- 
ing freight  bills  and  eliminating  the  annoyance  of  shortage  claims 
because  they  cannot  be  opened  without  immediate  detection. 


2i6  COMPOSITION 

Errors  of  any  kind  should  be  reported  without  delay. 
Imperfect  or  damaged  goods  must  be  returned  for  our  inspec- 
tion;  otherwise  no  allowance  will  be  made. 

2.  Do  not  go  to  the  other  extreme,  writing  paragraphs  of 
great  length.  Much  depends,  of  course,  on  the  matter  to 
be  treated,  but,  as  a  rule,  in  a  student's  theme  a  paragraph 
should  be  not  longer  than  one  page.  If  one  of  the  divisions 
of  your  subject  is  necessarily  long,  subdivide  it,  allowing 
a  paragraph  to  treat  each  of  the  subdivisions. 

Whether  it  is  to  be  long  or  short,  a  paragraph  must  treat 
but  one  topic;  from  the  first  sentence  to  the  last,  it  should 
be  the  development  of  one  idea.  Moreover,  this  topic  must 
be  revealed  to  the  reader  in  no  unmistakable  way.  Some- 
times the  subject  is  so  simple  that  the  topic  may  easily  be 
gathered  from  the  details  given,  but  usually  it  is  well  to 
have  one  sentence  that  in  a  brief  or  general  way  states  the 
topic.  This  is  called  the  topic  sentence.  It  may  be  at  or 
near  the  beginning;  in  this  case  the  rest  of  the  paragraph 
defines  or  illustrates  what  it  states.  It  may,  however,  be 
found  at  almost  any  point  in  the  paragraph,  not  infrequently 
acting  as  a  sentence  of  conclusion,  summing  up  the  details 
that  have  been  presented. 

A  paragraph  that  begins  with  a  topic  sentence  sometimes 
ends  with  a  sentence  of  conclusion.  The  first  sentence 
states  the  topic,  the  following  sentences  explain  or  illustrate 
it,  and  the  last  sentence  summarizes  or  otherwise  indicates 
that  the  topic  has  been  completed.  This  form  has  been 
called  the  hammock  paragraph,  because  it  has  a  solid  "post" 
at  each  end  with  a  mass  of  details  "swinging"  between. 
It  is  a  good  form  to  use  in  writing  paragraphs  on  given 
subjects,  when  each  paragraph  is  to  stand  alone,  complete 
in  itself,  not  forming  part  of  a  longer  composition.  The 
practice  of  writing  such  paragraphs  induces  clear,  forceful 
thinking. 


THE  PARAGRAPH  217 


Exercise  208 

Study  the  foHowing  paragraphs  for  — 

1.  Topic  sentence,  if  there  is  one. 

2.  Development  of  the  topic. 

3.  Sentence  of  conclusion,  if  there  is  one. 


The  problem  in  many  large  firms  is  how  to  develop  office  effi- 
ciency to  the  highest  possible  degree.  In  this  respect  the  monthly 
examination  scheme  has  been  found  a  great  success.  The  exam- 
ination consists  of  a  list  of  questions  about  ^merchandise  and 
business  procedure.  The  questions  are  given  out  on  the  last 
Saturday  of  the  month,  and  the  answers  are  returned  for  criti- 
cism on  the  following  Wednesday.  The  employees  are  told  that 
they  may  consult  as  many  authorities  as  they  wish,  but  each  man 
must  write  his  own  paper.  A  poor  percentage  in  three  of  these 
tests  usually  means  dismissal.  Thus  the  inefficient  are  dropped, 
and  the  ambitious  who  have  studied  are  recognized.  The  vice- 
president  of  one  concern  that  uses  this  system  says  that  it  is  a 
strong  reminder  to  his  men  that  they  must  make  themselves 
worthy  of  the  organization.  Besides  maintaining  an  even  stand- 
ard of  efficiency,  the  plan  has  resulted  in  developing  a  number  of 
valuable  executives,  whose  latent  powers  were  brought  out  by  the 
rigidness  of  the  tests. 

2 

Every  month  the  department  head  in  one  big  eastern  concern, 
watch  in  hand,  times  a  large  force  of  typists  individually,  testing 
how  rapidly  they  can  write  a  letter  of  200  words  from  their  short- 
hand notes.  Rapidity,  punctuation,  spelling,  and  neatness  are 
carefully  recorded.  This  plan  has  had  a  desirable  influence  in 
bringing  stenographers  up  to  grade  in  their  daily  work,  because 
a  good  examination  mark  is  reduced  one-half  by  careless  daily 
work,  and  a  poor  examination  mark  correspondingly  raised  by 
excellent  daily  work.  When  both  examination  average  and  daily 
average  are  excellent,  the  stenographer's  salary  is  increased; 
when  both  are  below  good,  the  stenographer  is  dismissed.  In 
this  way  the  standard  of  stenographic  work  is  kept  high. 


2i8  COMPOSITION 

3 

In  his  effort  to  succeed  many  a  young  business  man  overlooks 
the  detail  of  business  courtesy.  He  does  not  realize  the  value  that 
a  buyer  places  upon  that  commodity.  The  more  experienced 
man,  however,  knows  that  courtesy  does  more  to  hold  a  buyer 
than  do  bargain  sales.  In  our  large  cities  merchants  have  in- 
curred great  expense  to  fit  up  rest  rooms  where  customers  may 
spend  an  idle  hour,  write  letters  on  stationery  that  is  provided, 
and  read  the  latest  magazines.  In  the  rural  districts,  where  such 
luxuries  are  often  impossible,  the  merchant  provides  chairs  for 
his  customers  and  a  place  for  stationing  their  teams.  The  coun- 
try merchant,  however,  can  often  accomplish  his  object  more 
quickly  than  the  city  dealer  by  spending  an  hour  gossiping  with 
his  customers.  He  recognizes  the  fact  that  buyers  are  flattered 
when  the  proprietor  himself  takes  the  time  to  say  a  few  words 
to  them.  He  knows  just  as  well  as  his  city  competitor  does, 
that  if  a  buyer  feels  at  home  in  his  store,  sales  are  practically 
guaranteed. 

4 

The  rural  landscape  of  Norway,  on  the  long  easterly  slope  that 
leads  up  to  the  watershed  among  the  mountains  on  the  western 
coast,  is  not  unlike  that  of  Vermont  or  New  Hampshire.  The  rail- 
way from  Christiania  to  the  Randsf  jord  carried  us  through  a  hilly 
country  of  scattered  farms  and  villages.  Wood  played  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  scenery.  There  were  dark  stretches  of  forest  on 
the  hilltops  and  in  the  valleys;  rivers  filled  with  floating  logs; 
sawmills  beside  the  waterfalls;  wooden  farmhouses  painted  white; 
and  rail-fences  around  the  fields.  The  people  seemed  sturdy, 
prosperous,  independent.  They  had  the  familiar  habit  of  coming 
down  to  the  station  to  see  the  train  arrive  and  depart.  We  might 
have  fancied  ourselves  on  a  journey  through  the  Connecticut 
valley  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  soft  sing-song  of  the  Norwegian 
speech  and  the  uniform  politeness  of  the  railway  officials. 

—  Van  Dyke:   Fisherman'^s  Liick. 

5 

The  plan  of  the  Spectator  must  be  allowed  to  be  both  original 
and  eminently  happy.  Every  valuable  essay  in  the  series  may  be 
read  with  pleasure  separately;  yet  the  five  or  six  hundred  essays 
form  a  whole,  and  a  whole  which  has  the  interest  of  a  novel.  It 
must  be  remembered,  too,  that  at  that  time  no  novel,  giving  a 


THE  PARAGRAPH  219 

lively  and  powerful  picture  of  the  common  life  and  manners  of 
England,  had  appeared.  Richardson  was  working  as  a  composi- 
tor. Fielding  was  robbing  birds'  nests.  Smollett  was  not  yet 
born.  The  narrative,  therefore,  which  connects  together  the 
Spectator's  essays  gave  to  our  ancestors  their  first  taste  of  an 
exquisite  and  untried  pleasure.  That  narrative  was,  indeed,  con- 
structed with  no  art  or  labor.  The  events  were  such  events  as 
occur  every  day.  Sir  Roger  comes  up  to  town  to  see  Eugenio,  as 
the  worthy  baronet  always  calls  Prince  Eugene,  goes  with  the 
Spectator  on  the  water  to  Spring  Gardens,  walks  among  the 
tombs  in  the  Abbey,  and  is  frightened  by  the  Mohawks,  but 
conquers  his  apprehension  so  far  as  to  go  to  the  theater  when  the 
"Distressed  Mother"  is  acted.  The  Spectator  pays  a  visit  in 
the  summer  to  Coverley  Hall,  is  charmed  with  the  old  house,  the 
old  butler,  and  the  old  chaplain,  eats  a  jack  caught  by  Will  Wimble, 
rides  to  the  assizes,  and  hears  a  point  of  law  discussed  by  Tom 
Touchy.  At  last  a  letter  from  the  honest  butler  brings  to  the 
club  the  news  that  Sir  Roger  is  dead.  Will  Honeycomb  marries 
and  reforms  at  sixty.  The  club  breaks  up,  and  the  Spectator 
resigns  his  functions.  Such  events  can  hardly  be  said  to  form  a 
plot;  yet  they  are  related  with  such  truth,  such  grace,  such  wit, 
such  humor,  such  pathos,  such  knowledge  of  the  human  heart, 
such  knowledge  of  the  ways  of  the  world  that  they  charm  us  on 
the  hundredth  perusal.  We  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  if 
Addison  had  written  a  novel  on  an  extensive  plan,  it  would  have 
been  superior  to  any  that  we  possess.  As  it  is,  he  is  entitled  to  be 
considered  not  only  as  the  greatest  of  the  English  essayists,  but 
as  the  forerunner  of  the  great  English  novelists. 

—  Macaulay:   Essay  on  Addison, 

Exercise  209 

Prepare  a  paragraph  developing  each   of   the  following 
topic  sentences: 

1.  The  kitchen  was  a  cheerful  place.  (Tell  all  the  details 
that  will  explain  the  word  cheerful.) 

2.  In  the  kitchen  the  preparations  for  the  feast  went  on  merrily. 
(Give  the  details  that  will  help  one  get  the  picture.) 

3.  Examinations  are  helpful  to  the  student.  (In  what  ways 
are  they  helpful?  If  possible,  use  examples  to  illustrate  the 
point.) 


220  COMPOSITION 

4.  Winter  is  more  enjoyable  than  summer.  (Contrast  the 
pleasures  of  the  one  with  those  of  the  other,  showing  that  those 
of  winter  are  more  enjoyable.) 

5.  Riding  a  motorcycle  is  apt  to  make  a  boy  reckless.  (De- 
velop by  using  examples.) 

6.  A  man  must  like  his  work  if  he  is  to  succeed  in  it. 

7.  Farm  lands  vary  in  price. 

8.  The  farmer  feeds  the  world. 

9.  Every  department  store  should  have  regular  fire  drills. 
10.   Every  sale  ought  to  be  an  advertisement. 


Exercise  210 

Paragraph  the  following  so  that  the  paragraphs  will 
represent^  the  divisions  in  thought.  If  there  are  any  topic 
sentences,  underline  them. 


I  have  often  noticed  that  every  one  has  his  own  individual 
small  economies,  careful  habits  of  saving  fractions  of  pennies  in 
some  one  peculiar  direction,  any  disturbance  of  which  annoys  him 
more  than  spending  shillings  or  pounds  on  some  real  extravagance. 
An  old  gentleman  of  my  acquaintance,  who  took  the  intelligence 
of  the  failure  of  a  Joint  Stock  Bank,  in  which  some  of  his  money 
was  invested,  with  a  stoical  mildness,  worried  his  family  all 
through  a  long  summer's  day  because  one  of  them  had  torn  (in- 
stead of  cutting)  out  the  written  leaves  of  his  now  useless  bank- 
book. Of  course,  the  corresponding  pages  at  the  other  end  came 
out  as  well,  and  this  little  unnecessary  waste  of  paper  (his  pri- 
vate economy)  chafed  him  more  than  all  the  loss  of  his  money. 
Envelopes  fretted  his  soul  terribly  when  they  came  in.  The 
only  way  in  which  he  could  reconcile  himself  to  such  a  waste 
of  his  cherished  article  was  by  patiently  turning  inside  out  all 
that  were  sent  to  him,  and  so  making  them  serve  again.  Even 
now,  though  tamed  by  age,  I  see  him  casting  wistful  glances  at 
his  daughters  when  they  send  a  whole  inside  of  a  half-sheet  of 
note  paper,  with  the  three  lines  of  acceptance  to  an  invitation 
written  on  only  one  of  the  sides.  I  am  not  above  owning  that 
I  have  this  human  weakness  myself.  String  is  my  foible.  My 
pockets  get  full  of  little  hanks  of  it,  picked  up  and  twisted  to- 


THE  PARAGRAPH  221 

gether,  ready  for  uses  that  never  come.  I  am  seriously  annoyed 
if  any  one  cuts  a  string  of  a  parcel  instead  of  patiently  and  faith- 
fully undoing  it  fold  by  fold.  How  people  can  bring  themselves 
to  use  India-rubber  bands,  which  are  a  sort  of  deification  of  string, 
as  lightly  as  they  do  I  cannot  imagine.  To  me  an  India-rubber 
band  is  a  precious  treasure.  I  have  one  which  is  not  new  —  one 
that  I  picked  up  off  the  floor  nearly  five  years  ago.  I  have  really 
tried  to  use  it,  but  my  heart  failed  me,  and  I  could  not  commit 
the  extravagance.  Small  pieces  of  butter  grieve  others.  They 
cannot  attend  to  conversation  because  of  the  annoyance  occa- 
sioned by  the  habit  which  some  people  have  of  invariably  taking 
more  butter  than  they  want.  Have  you  ever  seen  the  anxious 
look  (almost  mesmeric)  which  such  persons  fix  on  the  article? 
They  would  feel  it  a  relief  if  they  might  bury  it  out  of  their  sight 
by  popping  it  into  their  own  mouths  and  swallowing  it  down; 
and  they  are  really  made  happy  if  the  person  on  whose  plate  it 
lies  unused  suddenly  breaks  off  a  piece  of  toast  (which  he  does  not 
want  at  all)  and  eats  up  his  butter.  They  think  that  this  is  not 
waste.  Now,  Miss  Matty  Jenkins  was  chary  of  candles.  We 
had  many  devices  to  use  as  few  as  possible.  In  the  winter  after- 
noons she  would  sit  knitting  for  two  or  three  hours  t-  she  could  do 
this  in  the  dark  or  by  firelight  —  and  when  I  asked  if  I  might  not 
ring  for  candles  to  finish  stitching  my  wristbands,  she  told  me  to 
"keep  blind  man's  holiday."  They  were  usually  brought  in  with 
tea,  but  we  burnt  only  one  at  a  time.  As  we  lived  in  constant 
preparation  for  a  friend  who  might  come  in  any  evening  (but  who 
never  did),  it  required  some  contrivance  to  keep  our  two  candles 
of  the  same  length,  ready  to  be  lighted,  and  to  look  as  if  we  burnt 
two  always.  The  candles  took  it  in  turns;  and  then,  whatever 
we  might  be  talking  of  or  doing.  Miss  Matty  kept  her  eyes  habitu- 
ally fixed  upon  the  candle,  ready  to  jump  up  and  extinguish  it 
and  light  the  other  before  they  had  become  too  uneven  in  length 
to  be  restored  to  equality  in  the  course  of  the  evening. 

—  Adapted  from  Mrs.  Gaskell's  Cranford, 


2 
Dear  Madam: 

We  are  sorry  to  say  that  we  have  no  more  house  coats  No. 
SP62  in  size  s^  at  $4.50.  As  we  advertised,  SP62  is  not  a  regular 
stock  number,  but  represents  a  collection  of  $5,  $6,  and  $7.50 
coats  remaining  after  the  holiday  sales  and  reduced  to  insure  their 


222  COMPOSITION 

being  sold  before  spring.  At  the  opening  of  the  sale  there  were 
only  a  few  coats  in  size  38,  and  they  were  sold  almost  at  once. 
In  our  catalogue,  pages  68  to  71  inclusive,  you  will  find  descrip- 
tions of  all  our  stock  house  coats.  On  page  68  you  will  see  No. 
450HC,  our  regular  $4.50  coat.  If  you  would  like  us  to  send  you 
one  of  these  in  size  38,  we  shall  forward  it  to  you  at  once.  How- 
ever, if  you  would  like  a  $5,  $6,  or  $7.50  coat,  you  will,  no  doubt, 
send  us  the  difference  in  price  on  receipt  of  this  letter.  Of  course, 
the  more  expensive  garments  are  made  of  better  materials,  but  all 
our  coats  show  the  same  excellent  workmanship.  The  best  way 
for  you  to  get  the  exact  shade  of  trimming  that  you  wish  is  to 
send  us  a  sample  of  the  goods  that  you  would  like  to  match.  We 
assure  you  that  we  shall  take  all  possible  care  to  send  you  the 
proper  color. 

Yours  truly, 

Exercise  211 

Paragraphs  may  be  developed  in  different  ways.  For 
example,  if  you  were  going  to  write  on  the  process  of  mak- 
ing a  layer  cake,  you  would  explain  in  detail  the  different 
ingredients  in  the  mixture,  the  proportion  of  each,  and  the 
steps  in  the  process  before  the  product  could  be  sold  as  a 
layer  cake. 

By  the  use  of  explanatory  details  develop  the  following: 

1.  Making  a  kite. 

2.  Making  a  baseball. 

3.  Making  fudge. 

4.  How  to  play  checkers. 

5.  The  manufacture  of  soap  (or  any  article  in  a  grocery). 

6.  The  manufacture  of  a  tin  can. 

7.  The  manufacture  of  pins. 

8.  Every  man  must  have  an  ambition. 

9.  Why  I  intend  to  enter  business. 
10.  The  greatest  modern  invention. 

By  the  use  of  examples  to  illustrate  your  point  develop 
the  following: 

1.  Electricity  is  making  housework  easy  and  pleasant. 

2.  Many  sons  of  poor  parents  have  won  great  wealth. 


THE  PARAGRAPH  223 

3.  The  wireless  apparatus  has  saved  many  lives. 

4.  A  boy  can  show  that  he  is  a  good  citizen. 

5.  Young  Americans  have  little  respect  for  authority. 

By   the   use    of   comparison   and   contrast   develop  the 
following : 

1.  Improvements  in  modern  lighting  systems. 

2.  Improvements  in  modem  heating  systems. 

3.  Improvements  in  modern  means  of  locomotion. 

4.  Two  kinds  of  work,  pleasure,  or  study. 

5.  Why  I  intend  to  have  a  business  of  my  own. 

6.  The  study  that  I  like  best. 

By  explaining  cause  and  effect  develop  the  following: 

1.  The  advantages  of  public  gymnasiums. 

2.  The  success  of  loose  leaf  devices. 

3.  The  objections  to  football. 


Exercise  212 

Develop  the  following  into  paragraphs;    in  each  case  be 
able  to  show  what  method  or  methods  you  have  employed: 

1.  A  man  who  cannot  read  and  write  English  should  not  be 
allowed  to  vote. 

2.  Postal  savings  banks  inspire  the  savings  habit. 

3.  Women  —  the  mothers  of  children  —  should  vote. 

4.  Women  should  not  vote  because  they  do  not  read  the 
newspaper. 

—   5.   The  effect  of  school  slang  is  bad. 

6.  I  wish  I  had  seen  the  coronation  of  George  V.     Every 
fairy  story  I  had  ever  read  would  suddenly  have  become  real. 

7.  Canada  would  gain  by  reciprocity  with  the  United  States. 

8.  The  United  States  would  gain  by  reciprocity  with  Canada. 

9.  Our  forests  should  be  preserved. 

10.  The  waste  of  lumber  by  forest  fires  results  from  careless- 
ness. 

11.  The  waste  of  lumber  in  cutting  railroad  ties  is  too  great. 

12.  The  rotation  of  crops  enriches  the  soil. 

13.  Apples  are  more  easily  gathered  than  cherries. 

14.  Efforts  should  be  made  to  keep  the  birds  in  our  city  parks. 


224  COMPOSITION 

15.  Every  boy  should  learn  a  trade. 

16.  Peddlers  should  not  be  allowed  to  call  their  wares. 

17.  Great  crowds  gathered  in  the  city  during  aviation  week 
(or  any  celebration). 

18.  The  electric  toaster  is  good  for  hurry-up  breakfasts. 

19.  Ironing  with  an  electric  iron  is  more  convenient  than  with 
the  old-fashioned  kind. 

20.  The  wireless  apparatus  makes  sea  voyages  safer  than 
before. 

21.  A  mixed  diet  is  best. 

22.  Cats  should  be  exterminated  because  they  spread  disease, 

23.  The  parcel  post  will  decrease  the  profits  of  the  express 
companies. 

24.  A  good  book  is  opened  with  expectation  and  closed  with 
profit. 

25.  Merchants  should  charge  for  delivering  purchases. 

26.  The  object  of  the  Child  Welfare  Exhibit  is  to  promote  the 
best  interests  of  chidren. 

27.  One  of  the  best  enactments  of  our  time  is  the  Child  Labor 
Law. 

Exercise  213  —  Smooth  Connection 

We  may  as  well  confess  at  the  beginning  that  smooth 
connection  between  sentences  and  paragraphs  is  a  hard  thing 
to  learn.  Primarily,  it  depends  on  clear  thinking.  In  Ex- 
ercise 135  we  saw  that  the  idea  of  one  sentence  must  grow 
out  of  the  idea  of  the  preceding  one.  It  is  the  same 
with  paragraphs.  The  thought  must  develop  gradually 
from  one  to  the  next.  Each  paragraph,  we  know,  represents 
a  unit  within  the  larger  unit  of  the  composition;  each 
represents  a  division  of  thought.  Not  infrequently  the 
thought  of  one  division  differs  considerably  from  the  thought 
of  the  next.  The  tying  together  of  such  units  is  sometimes 
hard.     It  may  be  done  in  one  of  the  following  ways: 

1.  By  repeating  at  the  beginning  of  the  new  paragraph 
or  sentence  part  of  the  preceding  paragraph  or  sentence. 

2.  By  using  pronouns  to  refer  to  what  has  gone  before. 

3.  By  using  connecting  links,  sometimes  called  transition 


THE  PARAGRAPH  225 

words  because  they  indicate  the  transition  from  one 
division  to  the  next.  Besides  those  mentioned  in  Exercise 
135,  we  may  use  a  numeral  connection,  as,  in  the  first  place, 
in  the  second  place;  or  an  expression  much  like  a  nu- 
meral, as,  furthermore,  in  the  next  place;  or  an  expression 
showing  that  an  adverse  idea  is  to  be  presented,  as,  on  the 
other  hand,  however,  in  spite  of  this,  nevertheless.  But  what- 
ever you  do,  choose  the  right  link,  especially  if  you  use  such 
a  one  as  possibly,  probably,  perhaps,  certainly,  surely.  Use 
the  one  that  expresses  your  idea  exactly.  Have  none  rather 
than  the  wrong  one. 

In  the  following  the  first  and  second  paragraphs  are  con- 
nected according  to  (i)  above;  the  second  and  third  are 
connected  according  to  (3)  above. 

There  comes  to  every  prosperous  man  a  time  when  he  wishes 
to  know  the  best  way  of  securing  a  steady  income  from  his  accu- 
mulated savings  without  the  burden  of  responsibility  of  managing 
some  property  in  order  to  gain  his  income.  The  merchant  may 
not  wish  to  put  back  into  the  business  all  the  earnings  he  gets 
from  it,  and  yet  he  wishes  to  prepare  for  his  old  age.  The  farmer 
may  wish  to  give  up  active  work,  but  he  realizes  how  soon  his 
broad  acres  may  deteriorate  through  soil-robbery  when  he  rents 
his  property  "on  shares."  With  such  a  problem  before  him  the 
thoughtful  man  makes  an  effort  to  learn  how  to  act  to  secure  a 
good  income  all  his  life. 

One  of  the  first  things  he  learns,  if  he  studies  the  situation  care- 
fully, is  that  there  is  a  wide  difference  between  an  income  derived 
from  one's  business  ability,  such  as  the  profit  secured  from  run- 
ning a  store,  factory,  jobbing  house,  or  farm,  and  the  income  which 
is  derived  as  the  result  of  money  "  working '^  by  itself.  In  the 
first  case,  a  man  must  of  necessity  keep  up  his  business  responsi- 
bilities; in  the  other,  once  he  has  selected  a  safe  investment, 
practically  all  he  has  to  do  is  to  collect  his  income  from  time  to 
time  as  it  falls  due.  There  is  in  the  latter  no  depreciation  of 
land,  buildings,  machinery,  or  the  like;  no  insurance  payments 
to  worry  about;   no  crop  failures  to  consider. 

It  is  evident,  then,  that  if  one  wishes  to  put  surplus  money  away 
—  say  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  a  business  or  a  farm  —  and 


226  COMPOSITION 

get  a  steady  income  from  it  without  bother  or  worry,  the  most 
important  thing  to  consider  is  how  to  go  about  it  to  select  some- 
thing which,  once  purchased,  will  turn  out  to  be  a  safe  investment. 


Exercise  214 

In  the  following  paragraphs  taken  from  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson's  The  Philosophy  of  Nomenclature,  point  out  all 
the  transition  words  that  join  (i)  sentence  to  sentence,  and 
(2)  paragraph  to  paragraph: 

To  begin,  then:  the  influence  of  our  name  makes  itself  felt 
from  the  very  cradle.  As  a  schoolboy  I  remember  the  pride  with 
which  I  hailed  Robin  Hood,  Robert  Bruce,  and  Robert  le  Diable 
as  my  name-fellows;  and  the  feehng  of  sore  disappointment  that 
fell  on  my  heart  when  I  found  a  freebooter  or  a  general  who  did 
not  share  with  me  a  single  one  of  my  numerous  praenomina. 
Look  at  the  delight  with  which  two  children  find  they  have  the 
same  name.  They  are  friends  from  that  moment  forth;  they 
have  a  bond  of  union  stronger  than  exchange  of  nuts  and  sweet- 
meats. This  feeling,  I  own,  wears  off  in  later  life.  Our  names 
lose  their  freshness  and  interest,  become  trite  and  indifferent. 
But  this,  dear  reader,  is  merely  one  of  the  sad  effects  of  those 
''shades  of  the  prison  house''  which  come  gradually  betwixt  us 
and  nature  with  advancing  years;  it  affords  no  weapon  against 
the  philosophy  of  names. 

In  after  life,  although  we  fail  to  trace  its  working,  that  name 
which  careless  godfathers  lightly  applied  to  your  unconscious 
infancy  will  haye  been  moulding  your  character  and  influencing 
with  irresistible  power  the  whole  course  of  your  earthly  fortunes. 
But  the  last  name  is  no  whit  less  important  as  a  condition  of  suc- 
cess. Family  names,  we  must  recollect,  are  but  inherited  nick- 
names; and  if  the  sobriquet  were  applicable  to  the  ancestor,  it  is 
most  likely  applicable  to  the  descendant  also.  You  would  not 
expect  to  find  Mr.  M'Phun  acting  as  a  mute  or  Mr.  M'Lumpha 
excelling  as  a  professor  of  dancing.  Therefore,  in  what  follows, 
we  shall  consider  names,  independent  of  whether  they  are  first 
or  last.  And  to  begin  with,  look  what  a  pull  Cromwell  had  over 
Pym  —  the  one  name  full  of  a  resonant  imperialism,  the  other 
mean,  pettifogging,  and  unheroic  to  a  degree.  Who  would  expect 
eloquence  from  Pym  —  who  would  read  poems  by  Pym  —  who 


THE  PARAGRAPH  227 

would  bow  to  the  opinions  of  Pym?  He  might  have  been  a  den- 
tist, but  he  should  never  have  aspired  to  be  a  statesman.  I  can 
only  wonder  that  he  succeeded  as  he  did.  Pym  and  Habakkuk 
stand  first  upon  the  roll  of  men  who  have  triumphed,  by  sheer 
force  of  genius,  over  the  most  unfavorable  appellations.  But 
even  these  have  suffered;  and,  had  they  been  more  fitly  named, 
the  one  might  have  been  Lord  Protector  and  the  other  have 
shared  the  laurels  with  Isaiah.  In  this  matter  we  must  not  forget 
that  all  our  great  poets  have  borne  great  names.  Chaucer, 
Spenser,  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Pope,  Wordsworth,  Shelley  — 
what  a  constellation  of  lordly  words!  Not  a  single  commonplace 
name  among  them  —  not  a  Brown,  not  a  Jones,  not  a  Robinson; 
they  are  all  names  that  one  would  stop  and  look  at  on  a  door- 
plate.  Now,  imagine  if  Pepys  had  tried  to  clamber  somehow  into 
the  enclosure  of  poetry,  what  a  blot  would  that  name  have  made 
upon  the  list!  The  thing  is  impossible.  In  the  first  place,  a 
certain  natural  consciousness  that  men  have  would  have  held 
him  down  to  the  level  of  his  name,  would  have  prevented  him 
from  rising  above  the  Pepsine  standard,  and  so  haply  withheld 
him  altogether  from  attempting  verse.  Next,  the  booksellers 
would  refuse  to  publish,  and  the  world  to  read  them,  on  the  mere 
evidence  of  the  fatal  appellation.  And  now,  before  I  close  this 
section,  I  must  say  one  word  as  to  punnable  names,  names  that 
stand  alone,  that  have  a  significance  and  life  apart  from  him  that 
bears  them.  These  are  the  bitterest  of  all.  One  friend  of  mine 
goes  bowed  and  humbled  through  life  under  the  weight  of  this 
misfortune;  for  it  is  an  awful  thing  when  a  man's  name  is  a  joke, 
when  he  cannot  be  mentioned  without  exciting  merriment,  and 
when  even  the  intimation  of  his  death  bids  fair  to  carry  laughter 
into  many  a  home. 

So  much  for  people  who  are  badly  named.  Now  for  people 
who  are  too  well  named,  who  go  topheavy  from  the  font,  who  are 
baptized  into  a  false  position,  and  who  find  themselves  beginning 
life  eclipsed  under  the  fame  of  some  of  the  great  ones  of  the  past. 
A  man,  for  instance,  called  William  Shakespeare  could  never  dare 
to  write  plays.  He  is  thrown  into  too  humbling  an  apposition 
with  the  author  of  Hamlet.  His  own  name  coming  after  is  such 
an  anti-climax.  *'The  plays  of  William  Shakespeare?"  says  the 
reader  —  "O  no!  The  plays  of  William  Shakespeare  Cockerill," 
and  he  throws  the  book  aside.  In  wise  pursuance  of  such  views, 
Mr.  John  Milton  Hengler,  who  not  long  since  delighted  us  in  this 
favored  town,  has  never  attempted  to  write  an  epic,  but  has 


228  COMPOSITION 

chosen  a  new  path  and  has  excelled  upon  the  tight-rope.  A 
marked  example  of  triumph  over  this  is  the  case  of  Mr.  Dante 
Gabriel  Rosetti.  On  the  face  of  the  matter,  I  should  have  advised 
him  to  imitate  the  pleasing  modesty  of  the  last-named  gentleman, 
and  confine  his  ambition  to  the  sawdust.  But  Mr.  Rosetti  has 
triumphed.  He  has  even  dared  to  translate  from  his  mighty 
name-father;  and  the  voice  of  fame  supports  him  in  his  boldness. 


Exercise  215 

Turn  back  to  Exercise  210,  i.      How  are  the  different 
paragraphs  that  you  have  made  connected? 


CHAPTER  XV 
BUSINESS  LETTERS 

Not  long  ago  the  head  of  one  of  the  biggest  mail  order 
firms  in  this  country  said:  '' Business  needs  the  boys  and  the 
girls.  Do  not  let  them  think  they  can  be  but  cogs  in  the 
great  system  of  wheels.  More  to-day  than  at  any  previous 
time  the  world  needs  men  and  women  who  can  speak  and 
write  themselves  into  English.  Four  hundred  million  dollars 
is  wasted  every  year  in  unprofitable  advertising  alone,  and 
as  much  more  in  bad  handling  of  good  prospects  and  loss  of 
customers  through  inefficient  letters.  We  look  to  the  future 
generation  to  conserve  a  part  of  this  enormous  loss.  If  a 
single  page  advertisement  in  a  single  issue  costs  $7500, 
what  you  say  on  that  page  is  important.  Look  into  any 
current  magazine,  and  you  will  be  tremendously  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  EngUsh  in  this  branch  alone,  not 
to  mention  its  importance  in  letter  writing.'' 

There  is  no  greater  power  in  business  to-day  than  the 
ability  to  use  convincing  English  in  correspondence  and  in 
advertising.  Any  one  who  can  write  good  letters,  letters 
that  you  feel  you  really  must  answer,  has  success  ahead  of 
him,  because  the  market  of  a  good  letter  is  practically  un- 
restricted. Wherever  a  letter  can  penetrate,  it  may  create 
desire  for  an  article  and  make  sales. 

But  what  is  a  good  letter?  Nothing  more  than  a  bit 
of  good  EngUsh.  Can  you  write  clear,  direct,  crisp,  yet 
fluent  English?  Then  you  can  write  good  letters  —  but 
not  till  then. 

In  modern  business  the  letter  has  become  the  advertiser, 
the  salesman,  the  collector,  and  the  adjuster  of  claims.  An 
advertisement  must  be  attractive;  it  must  arouse  the  interest 


230  COMPOSITION 

of  the  one  who  sees  it.  A  salesman  must  understand  human 
nature;  he  must  forestall  objections  by  showing  the  cus- 
tomer how  he  will-  gain  by  buying.  The  collector  and  the 
adjuster  of  claims  must  be  courteous  and  at  the  same  time 
shrewd.  If  a  letter  is  to  meet  all  of  these  requirements 
it  cannot  be  dashed  off  at  a  moment's  notice.  It  must  be 
thought  out  in  detail  and  written  carefully  to  include  all 
that  should  be  expressed.  This  means,  especially  in  a  sales 
letter: 

1.  An  unusually  worded  opening  that  puts  the  writer's 
affairs  in  the  background  and  the  reader's  gain  in  the  fore- 
ground. Begin  with  you^  not  we.  The  reader  is  interested 
in  himself,  his  own  progress,  his  own  troubles,  and  not  in 
the  possessions  of  the  writer,  except  as  the  writer  can  show 
that  those  possessions  affect  him. 

2.  A  clear,  simply  worded  explanation  of  the  purpose  of 
the  letter. 

3.  Proof  of  advantages  to  the  reader. 

4.  Persuasion  or  inducement  to  act  now. 

5.  Conclusion,  making  this  action  easy. 

Above  all,  if  a  letter  is  to  be  good,  it  must  not  be  too 
short.  In  the  pursuit  of  brevity  too  many  pupils  in  business 
English  make  the  mistake  of  writing  altogether  too  little  to 
get  the  reader's  attention;  and  if  his  attention  is  not 
aroused,  the  letter  fails.  The  letter  should  be  long  enough 
to  suggest  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  reader  and  enthu- 
siasm for  the  subject  under  discussion. 

Enthusiasm  in  business  involves  knowledge  both  of  your 
project  and  of  your  customer.  You  cannot  attempt  to 
write  a  letter  of  any  kind  unless  you  know  the  facts  that 
require  it.  Perhaps  it  is  a  complaint  that  you  must  try 
to  settle.  Without  a  knowledge  of  the  facts,  of  the  truth  or 
the  untruth  of  the  claim,  how  can  you  write  the  letter? 
Sometimes  it  requires  both  time  and  study  to  gather  the 
necessary  details,  but  they  must  be  gathered. 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  231 

When  you  have  your  details  and  begin  writing,  be  sincere. 
You  must  be  so  absolutely  in  earnest  that  the  reader  will 
at  once  feel  and  begin  to  share  your  enthusiasm. 

Knowledge  of  the  person  to  whom  you  are  writing  is  fully 
as  important  as  knowledge  of  your  subject.  You  must  get 
his  point  of  view,  understand  his  character,  and  appeal  to 
the  qualities  that  you  recognize  in  it,  to  the  desires  or  ambi- 
tions that  it  shows.  To  a  certain  extent  all  of  us  are 
alike.  There  are  certain  fundamental  interests  that  we  all 
possess;  these  may  safely  be  appealed  to  at  almost  all  times. 
But  our  employment,  our  habits  of  life,  our  ways  of  thinking 
make  us  different.  The  same  argument,  probably,  will 
not  always  bring  satisfactory  replies  from  a  manufacturer, 
a  farmer,  a  judge,  a  minister  or  priest,  a  carpenter,  and  a 
woman.  Some  people  like  to  receive  a  long  letter  that  goes 
carefully  into  detail;  others  will  not  take  the  time  to  read 
such  a  letter.  Each  customer  must  be  studied.  This  is  so 
difficult  a  matter  that  no  one  can  expect  to  learn  it  all  at 
once. 

Finally,  from  the  first  word  to  the  last  be  courteous.  No 
matter  how  righteous  your  indignation,  be  courteous.  You 
cannot  afford  to  lose  your  temper.  Courtesy  does  not  imply 
flattery  nor  a  lack  of  truth.  Your  letter  can  be  strong  and 
yet  polite  in  tone.  Lose  your  temper,  and  your  letter  will 
probably  fail.  Keep  your  temper,  show  thoughtfulness  for 
the  reader's  interest,  and  your  letter  will  more  likely  fulfill ' 
its  purpose. 

Exercise  216  —  The  Form  of  the  Letter 

Before  we  look  at  some  actual  letters  to  judge  of  their 
effectiveness,  we  must  learn  the  conventional  form  of  a 
letter,  the  parts  which  many  years  of  use  have  shown  to 
be  necessary.  There  are  six  parts  to  a  formal  or  business 
letter: 


232  COMPOSITION 

1.  The  heading,  which  includes  the  writer's  address  and  the 
date. 

2.  The  introduction,  which  includes  the  name  and  the  address 
of  the  one  to  whom  you  are  writing. 

3.  The  salutation;  for  example,  Dear  Sir: 

4.  The  body  of  the  letter,  the  important  part. 

5.  The  courteous  close;  for  example.  Yours  truly, 

6.  The  signature. 

Each  part  ends  with  a  period  except  the  salutation,  which 
ends  with  a  colon,  and  the  courteous  close,  which  ends  with 
a  comma.  The  various  groups  of  words  within  the  heading 
and  the  introduction  are  separated  by  commas. 

Why  does  the  salutation  end  with  a  colon? 

Why  does  the  courteous  close  end  with  a  comma? 


The  Arrangement 

In  the  following,  notice  the  spacing.     If  the  heading  is 
short,  it  is  put  on  one  line;  as, 

Heading  Hilliard,  Fla.,  June  30,  19 14. 

Introduction  Mr.  Thomas  Barrett, 

Boston ,  Mass. 
Salutation              Dear  Sir: 
Body  


Courteous  close  Yours  truly, 

Signature  Samuel  Garth 

If  the  heading  is  long,  arrange  it  in  one  of  the  following 
ways: 

I 

334  Lexington  Ave.,  Chicago, 
May  19,  191 5. 
Mr.  Thomas  Barrett, 

Boston,  Mass. 
Dear  Sir: 


BUSINESS  LETTERS 

2 


233 


Mr.  Thomas  Barrett, 

Boston,  Mass. 
Dear  Sir: 


Mr.  Thomas  Barrett, 

Boston,  Mass. 
Dear  Sir:     , 


Mr.  Thomas  Barrett, 

Boston,  Mass. 
Dear  Sir: 


334  Lexington  Ave., 

Chicago,  111.,  May  19,  191 5. 


334  Lexington  Ave., 
Chicago,  111.,  May  19,  191 5. 


334  Lexington  Ave., 
Chicago,  111., 
May  19,  1915. 


Pay  particular  attention  to  every  punctuation  mark  used 
above.     Each  one  is  important. 

There  seems  to  be  a  tendency  in  some  business  firms  to 
begin  each  item  of  the  introduction  flush  with  the  margin. 
This  form  has  arisen,  probably,  because  it  is  easier  to  bring 
the  carriage  of  the  typewriter  back  to  the  margin  than  it 
is  to  indent.  It  is  advisable,  however,  to  use  one  of  the 
forms  illustrated. 

Arrange  the  following  headings,  supplying  capitals  and 
punctuation  marks: 

1.  55  water  st  mobile  ala  June  16  19- 

2.  calmar  iowa  September  i  19- 

3.  453  marquette  building  Chicago  ill  jan  5  19- 

4.  123  salem  st  springfield  mass  June  23  19- 

5.  highland  park  grand  haven  mich  may  3  19- 

6.  220  broadway  new  york  n  y  february  15  19- 

7.  78  main  street  portland  Oregon  december  10  19- 

8.  32  lincoln  st  kansas  city  mo  oct  2  19- 


234  COMPOSITION 

9.  room  15  13  2 1  Pennsylvania  ave  Washington  d  c  sept  2  19- 

10.  25  chestnut  st  Philadelphia  pa  april  14  19- 

11.  212  tribune  building  new  york  n  y  march  2  19- 

12.  98  dorchester  ave  boston  mass  feb  12  19- 

13.  24  milk  st  boston  mass  June  14  19- 

14.  231  west  39th  st  new  york  city  march  4  19- 

15.  345  newark  ave  jersey  city  n  j  (supply  date) 

16.  44  fifth  ave  detroit  mich  sept  i  19- 

17.  102  west  42d  st  denver  Colorado  (date) 

18.  Explain  the  difference  between  (16)  and  (17).  Notice 
that  the  name  of  the  street  in  each  case  is  a  numeral.  Why  is 
it  spelled  out  in  (16)  and  not  in  (17)? 


Exercise  217 

Supplying  the  name  of  the  firm  and  the  business  engaged 
in,  write  letter  heads  using  the  items  given  in  Exercise  216. 
For  example: 

Barrett,  Brown  &  Co. 

Groceries 

55  Water  Street 

Decorah,  Iowa,  — 19 

When  may  &  be  used? 

What  is  the  advantage  of  using  a  letter  head? 

In  making  letter  heads,  imagine  you  are  a  printer.  Arrange 
the  items  so  that  they  may  show  to  the  best  advantage. 
Let  your  lines  of  printing  or  writing  be  of  different  lengths. 
Add  any  details  that  you  wish,  such  as  trade-mark  designs 
or  the  names  of  ofiicers. 

Arrange  and  punctuate: 

1.  citronelle  business  mens  association  citronelle  alabama 
may  2  19-  mr  John  harvy  19  e  monroe  st  rochester  n  y  dear  sir 

2.  173  broad  way  new  york  June  10  19  —  mr  waiter  thomas  191 
e  main  st  waltham  mass  dear  sir 

3.  25  broad  st  maplewood  n  h  messrs  hausen  &  ottman  18 
la  salle  station  Chicago  ill  gentlemen  (supply  date) 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  235 

4.  John  randolph  &  co  druggist  14  Jefferson  st  Charleston  s  c 
jan  8  19  —  gerhard  mennen  &  co  newark  n  j  gentlemen  (letter  head) 

5.  43  south  5  th  ave  madison  wis  aug  8  19  —  the  white  mountain 
freezer  co  nashua  n  h  gentlemen 

Address  an  envelope  for  each  of  the  above,  using  the 
following  as  a  model. 


Barrett,  Brown  &  Co., 

55  Water  Street, 

Decorah,  Iowa. 


Exercise  218  —  Cautions 

The  Heading 

Always  date  your  letters. 

Give  your  full  address,  even  if  you  are  certain  that  the 
one  to  whom  you  are  writing  knows  it. 

The  Introduction 

The  person  addressed  must  always  be  given  a  title.  If  you 
address  one  man,  use  Mr. ;  if  a  firm,  use  Messrs. ;  if  a  woman. 
Miss  or  Mrs.  If  a  man  has  a  title  like  Professor  or  Doctor, 
it  should  be  used,  and  Mr.,  of  course,  omitted. 

Hon,  (Honorable)  is  used  for  a  person  who  holds,  or  who 
has  held,  a  public  office.     It  is  a  very  formal  title. 

Esq.  (Esquire)  is  a  legal  form  used  by  some  correspondents 
in  addressing  any  man.  It  is  an  English  usage.  It  always 
follows  the  name,  and,  if  it  is  used,  Mr.  is  omitted.  In  this 
country  Mr.  is  preferable. 

In  writing  to  a  man  in  his  official  capacity,  the  following 
form  is  correct  when  there  is  no  street  number  or  when  the 
title  is  short.     Notice  that  Mr.  is  omitted. 


236  COMPOSITION 

G.  N.  Fratt,  Cashier, 
First  National  Bank, 
Racine,  Wis. 

The  following  is  correct  when  the  title  is  long: 

Mr.  John  Frederick  Pierce, 
Ass't.  Engineer  of  Bridges  and  Buildings, 
607  White  Building,  Seattle,  Wash. 

Notice  that  in  the  last  example,  the  city  and  the  state 
are  put  on  the  same  line  as  the  street  in  order  to  make  the 
three  lines  of  about  the  same  length.  Four  lines  might  have 
been  used. 

The  Salutation 

If  you  address  one  man,  the  salutation  is  Dear  Sir;  as, 

Mr.  John  Pierce, 

Seattle,  Wash. 
Dear  Sir: 

If  you  address  a  firm,  the  salutation  is  Gentlemen;  as, 

Messrs.  Brownleigh  &  King, 

Portland,  Oregon. 
Gentlemen: 

If  you  address  a  woman,  married  or  single,  the  salutation 
in  business  letters  is  Dear  Madam;  as. 


Mrs.  John  Pierce, 

Seattle,  Wash. 
Dear  Madam: 

2 
Miss  Florence  Pierce, 

Seattle,  Wash. 
Dear  Madam: 

A    more    familiar   form    of   salutation    is   either   of   the 
following: 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  237 


Miss  Florence  Pierce, 

Seattle,  Wash. 
My  dear  Miss  Pierce: 

2 

Miss  Florence  Pierce, 

Seattle,  Wash. 
Dear  Miss  Pierce: 

In  using  Hon,,  the  salutation  is  usually  Sir, 

The  Courteous  Close 
The  courteous  close  corresponds  in  tone  to  the  salutation. 
If  the  salutation  is  Dear  Sir,  Gentlemen^  or  Dear  Madam,  the 
courteous  close  should  be  one  of  the  following: 

Yours  truly, 
Yours  very  truly, 
Very  truly  yours. 
Respectfully  yours. 
Yours  respectfully. 
Sincerely  yours. 
Very  sincerely  yours, 

If  the  salutation  is  Sir,  the  courteous  close  should  be 
Respectfully  yours  or  Yours  respectfully. 

If  the  body  of  the  letter  and  the  courteous  close  do  not 
agree  in  tone,  the  effect  is  often  ridiculous.  Suppose,  for 
instance,  that  the  courteous  close  of  (2)  under  Exercise  220 
were  Yours  respectfully.    What  would  be  the  effect? 

The  Signature 

If  an  unmarried  woman  is  signing  a  business  letter,  she 
should  avoid  confusion  by  prefixing  (Miss)  to  her  name. 

A  married  woman  should  sign  her  own  name,  as,  Alice 
Pierce;  she  should  indicate  her  title,  as  Mrs,  John  F,  Pierce, 
either  below  the  other  or  at  one  side. 

No  other  title  should  be  prefixed  to  a  signature. 


238  COMPOSITION 

If  a  letter  is  signed  by  the  name  of  a  firm,  the  signature 
of  the  one  who  dictated  the  letter  is  usually  added;  as, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Smith  Lumber  Co. 
by 

This  sort  of  signature  gives  a  letter  the  '^personal  touch.'' 
Explain. 

Folding  a  Letter 

Business  letter  paper  is  about  eight  by  ten  inches.  In 
folding  a  letter  sheet,  (i)  turn  the  lower  edge  up  to  about 
one-eighth  of  an  inch  from  the  top;  press  the  fold  firmly, 
keeping  the  edges  even;  (2)  turn  the  paper  so  that  the 
folded  edge  is  at  your  left  hand;  (3)  ioldfrom  you  a  little 
less  than  one- third  the  width  of  the  sheet;  (4)  fold  the 
upper  edge  down  toward  you  so  that  it  projects  a  trifle 
beyond  the  folded  edge.  Without  turning  it  over,  pick  it 
up  and  insert  it  in  the  envelope,  putting  in  first  the  edge 
that  was  folded  last. 

Write  the  address  and  the  salutation  for: 

1.  A  business  house  in  your  town. 

2.  Mr.  John  R.  Tobin,  president  of  the  Detroit  State  Bank, 
Detroit,  Mich. 

3.  Miss  Mabel  Gunther,  Shullsburg,  Wis. 

V  4.  Professor  C.  M.  Watson,  Harvard  College,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
5.  John  F.  Campbell,  Manager  Bond  Department,  First  Trust 
and  Savings  Bank,  Boston,  Mass. 

-in  6.   Taylor  and  Critchfield,  Chicago,  111. 

^7.  Mrs.  Thomas  D.  MacDonald,  126  E.  Second  Street,  Wash- 
ington, la. 

Write  the  courteous  close  and  the  signature  for: 

1.  A  letter  from  a  business  house  in  your  town  signed  by  F.  R. 
Wilson. 

2.  A  letter  from  Miss  Mabel  Gunther  (2  above). 

3.  A  letter  from  Professor  C.  M.  Watson  (4  above). 

4.  A  letter  signed  by  John  F.  Campbell  (5  above). 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  239 

5.  A  letter  from  Taylor  and  Critchfield  signed  by  you  yourself. 

6.  A  letter  from  Mrs.  Thomas  D.  MacDonald  (7  above). 


Exercise  219  —  Ordering  Goods 

If  an  order  includes  a  number  of  separate  items,  it  is 
usually  written  on  a  separate  sheet  of  paper.  Firms  often 
supply  blanks  for  this  purpose.  If  the  order  is  short,  it 
forms  part  of  the  letter.  In  any  case,  each  item  is  placed 
on  a  separate  line,  so  that  the  items  may  be  checked  as 
the  order  is  filled.  In  the  following,  notice  the  arrange- 
ment and  the  punctuation: 

Hamilton,  Montana,  Feb.  16,  19 14. 
Messrs.  MacBride  &  Dickens, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
Gentlemen: 

At  your  earliest  convenience  please  ship  me  the  following  via 
the  Northern  Express  Co.  from  St.  Paul: 

6  doz.  A  68  assorted  sizes  Men's  Black  Caps  @  1.50  9.00 
5  doz.  D  71  Men's  Cotton  Handkerchiefs  @  .60  3.00 
5  doz.  X  30  Men's  Linen  Handkerchiefs        @     2.00    10.00 


$22.00 
Enclosed  find  a  draft  on  New  York  for  twenty- two  dollars. 

Yours  truly, 

S.  D.  Jgnsen 
Write  the  letters  outlined  below: 

1.  Order  fifty  copies  of  the  Business  Arithmetic  that  you  are 
using.     How  shall  you  pay  for  them? 

2.  Clip  from  a  newspaper  an  advertisement  of  groceries.  Im- 
agine that  you  are  a  housekeeper,  and  spend  ten  dollars  to  the  best 
advantage,  ordering  several  articles, 

3.  Bring  in  an  advertisement  of  household  necessities — linens, 
tinware,  etc.     Spend  five  dollars,  buying  several  articles. 

4.  Bring  in  an  advertisement  of  furniture.  Write  a  letter 
ordering  enough  to  furnish  a  parlor  or  a  dining  room.  Have  the 
amount  charged  to  your  account. 

5.  A  magazine  offers  one  of  several  books  as  a  premium  with 
a  year's  subscription.     Answer  the  advertisement. 


240  COMPOSITION 

Exercise  220  —  The  Tone  of  the  Letter 

Undue  familiarity  or  an  evidence  of  loss  of  temper  will  at 
once  frustrate  the  object  of  a  letter.  A  dignified  letter  never 
shows  either.  Just  what  constitutes  a  dignified  letter  is  hard 
to  define  but  fairly  easy  to  feel.  This  much  is  certain:  it  must 
be  simple  in  structure,  direct  in  its  wording,  and  so  sincere  in 
feeling  that  no  one  will  doubt  its  truth.  Any  extravagance 
of  language,  therefore,  has  no  place  in  a  dignified  letter. 

Study  the  following  to  see  whether  they  show  dignity: 

I 

Tuesday,  5  p.m. 
Miss  Sarah  Howard, 

Denver,  Colorado. 
Dear  Madam: 

I  have  a  great  piece  of  confidential  news  for  you. 
Take  advantage  of  the  remarkable  offer  our  company  is  making 
to  you,  and  it  will  mean  thousands  of  dollars  in  your  pocket. 
Understand  that  this  offer  is  not  open  to  every  one.  You  have 
been  especially  selected.  You  are  the  only  one  in  your  town  who 
will  hear  of  this  remarkable  offer. 


2 

Elsworth,  Brown  &  Co., 

120  Jefferson  Ave., 
Detroit,  Mich. 
Gentlemen: 

What  is  the  matter  with  our  last  order?  Have  you  people 
gone  out  of  business,  or  are  you  asleep?  If  we  don't  get  that  order 
by  the  third,  you'll  never  hear  from  us  again. 

3 
A  letter  to  Mrs.  Bixby,  written  Nov.  21,  1864. 

Dear  Madam: 

I  have  been  shown  in  the  file  of  the  War  Department  a  state- 
ment of  the  Adjutant  General  of  Massachusetts  that  you  are  the 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  241 

mother  of  five  sons  who  have  died  gloriously  on  the  field  of  battle. 
I  feel  how  weak  and  fruitless  must  be  any  words  of  mine  which 
should  beguile  you  from  the  grief  of  a  loss  so  overwhelming.  But 
I  cannot  refrain  from  tendering  to  you  the  consolation  that  may 
be  found  in  the  thanks  of  the  republic  they  died  to  save.  I  pray 
that  our  Heavenly  Father  may  assuage  the  anguish  of  your 
bereavement,  and  leave  you  only  the  cherished  memory  of  the 
loved  and  lost  and  the  solemn  pride  that  must  be  yours  to  have 
laid  so  costly  a  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  freedom. 

Yours  very  sincerely  and  respectfully, 

Abraham  Lincoln 

Exercise  221 

In  writing  the  following  letters,  be  definite  and  courteous: 

1.  You  have  advertised  your  eight-room,  furnace-heated  house 
for  sale  for  $3,500.  A  letter  of  inquiry  desires  particulars. 
Answer  it. 

2.  You  live  on  a  side  street,  which  for  the  last  week  has  not  been 
lighted.  Write  to  the  editor  of  the  paper,  or  to  a  town  official, 
whichever  you  think  would  remedy  the  matter.  Be  courteous. 
A  letter  to  an  editor  is  begun:  To  the  Editor  of . 

3.  The  cars  on  which  you  ride  every  day  are  very  dirty.  Write 
to  the  mayor.     He  is  addressed:  Hon. . 

4.  You  wish  to  have  a  telephone  installed.     Make  application. 

5.  Two  weeks  ago  you  wrote  (4).  Still  you  have  no  telephone. 
Write  again,  stating  the  substance  of  (4)  and  asking  the  reason 
for  the  delay. 

6.  Write  the  telephone  company's  reply.  Be  very  courteous. 
What  good  reason  could  you  give  for  the  delay? 

7.  You  understand  that  your  Congressman  has  the  privilege 
of  recommending  a  young  man  to  take  the  entrance  examinations 
of  your  state  university.  Write  to  him,  asking  that  he  recom- 
mend you.  Remember  that  he  is  a  stranger  to  you.  What  should 
you  tell  him? 

Exercise  222.  —  Mistaken  Ideas  in  Letter  Writing 

It  is  too  bad  that,  to  a  number  of  people,  the  term  business 
letter  conveys  the  idea  of  a  colorless,  stilted  composition  full 
of  trite  and  almost  meaningless  business  formulas.     No  one 


242  COMPOSITION 

reads  such  a  letter  unless  he  has  to,  and  surely  that  is  not 
the  kind  we  wish  to  practice  writing.  Let  us  look  at  a  few 
of  the  expressions  that  we  should  be  careful  to  avoid. 

I.  Sometimes  a  writer  tries  to  impress  a  reader  with  the 
volume  of  business  he  is  doing  by  showing  haste  in  his  corre- 
spondence; as,  in 

1.  Omitting  the  subject;   as, 

Wrong:  In  reply  to  your  question  will  say 

Right:  In  reply  to  your  question  I  will  say 

2.  Omitting  articles  and  prepositions;   as. 

Wrong:  Direct  package  care  Western  Canning  Co. 

Right:  Direct  the  package  in  care  of  the  Western  Canning  Co. 

3.  Using  abbreviations 

a.  Of  the  introduction.     Write  out  the  introduction 

in  detail,  both  name  and  address.     Abbreviating 
this  part  of  the  letter  is  highly  discourteous. 

b.  In  the  body  of  the  letter;  as, 

Wrong:  The  Co.  sent  a  no.  of  large  orders  last  year. 

c.  Of  the  courteous  close;  as. 

Wrong:  Yours  etc. 
Wrong:  Yours  resp'y. 

^  4.  Using  a  phrase  as  a  sentence;  as, 

Wrong:  Yours  of  the  6th  at  hand  and  contents  noted. 

It  is  much  better  to  refer  indirectly  to  the  receipt  of  a 
letter;  as. 

In  the  order  you  sent  us  Aug.  5 

The  same  sort  of  mistake  is  seen  in  the  all  too  frequent 
closing: 

Wrong:  Hoping  that  we  hear  from  you  soon, 

Yours  truly. 
Right:  Hoping  that  we  hear  from  you  soon,  we  are 

Yours  truly. 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  243 

Why  use  such  an  expression  at  all?  Avoid  hoping,  trust- 
ing, awaiting,  or  any  other  artificial  closing. 

II.  Sometimes  a  writer  makes  an  effort  to  be  extremely 
courteous,  but  fails  because  he  uses  hackneyed  wording;  as, 

1.  Kindly. — A  good  word  in  itself  but  greatly  abused. 

2.  We  beg  to  state.  —  Never  use  beg  in  this  sense.  You 
have  no  right  to  beg  attention;   earn  it. 

3.  Your  favor,  your  esteemed  favor,  your  valued  favor.  — 
Say,  Your  letter. 

4.  Will  you  be  so  good  as  to.  —  Belongs  in  the  class  with 
beg  to  state.     Make  your  requests  courteously,  but  directly. 

5.  Would  say.  —  Avoid  this  expression. 

III.  Sometimes  in  an  effort  to  be  clear  a  writer  uses  same 
as  a  pronoun;  as. 

Wrong:  If  the  books  are  not  satisfactory,  return  same. 

This  is  one  of  the  worst  of  the  distinctly  business  blunders. 
Same  is  never  a  pronoun.  Write  to  a  man  as  you  talk  to 
him  and  you  will  not  use  same  in  this  way.    (See  Exercise  88.) 

IV.  Sometimes  in  order  to  get  attention  a  writer  will  use  a 
liberal  sprinkling  of  dashes  and  capitals,  probably  in  imita- 
tion of  advertising  copy.  Better  than  such  artificial  means 
is  the  attraction  of  a  well  worded  letter. 

Criticise  the  following  letters,  pointing  out  all  the  expres- 
sions that  should  be  improved.     Rewrite  the  letters. 


I 

Gentlemen: 

We  beg  to  acknowledge  your  esteemed  favor  of  Apr.  6.  In 
regard  to  shoes  received  by  you  in  poor  shape  as  per  complaint, 
would  say  that  on  receipt  of  same  will  try  to  locate  cause  of  trouble. 
If  due  to  defect  in  manufacture,  will  credit  you  with  value  of 
same. 

Hoping  this  is  satisfactory  to  you. 

Yours  truly. 


244  COMPOSITION 

2 

Dear  Sir: 

Yours  of  March  i8  at  hand.  Referring  to  matter  of  short 
weight,  I  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  C  &  A  car  87324,  which  you 
loaded  for  us  March  7  at  your  Auburn  mine,  gross  weight  121,400 
lbs.  This  car  was  check  weighed  at  Peoria  March  11  on  your 
company^s  scales  and  showed  gross  weight  113,200  lbs.  or  shortage 
8,200  lbs.  Having  investigated  car,  I  find  same  was  in  good  order 
and  no  indication  of  leakage,  and  it  would  appear  to  be  a  case  of 
carelessness  at  time  of  loading.  Therefore  will  request  you  to 
kindly  send  me  cr.  memo,  on  8,200  lbs. 

Yours  truly, 

Exercise  223  —  The  Sales  Letter 

The  object  of  the  sales  letter  is  to  make  the  reader  buy. 
How  can  you  do  it?  To  begin  with,  get  his  point  of  view  — 
that  of  the  user.  Then  imagine  that  he  is  present  and  talk 
to  him  on  paper.  Get  his  interest  with  your  opening  sen- 
tence. Explain  what  you  have  to  sell.  Show  him  that  he 
needs  it.  Whet  his  desire  to  possess  it,  and,  finally,  make 
it  easy  and  imperative  for  him  to  order  today. 

The  opening  paragraph  is  all-important.  It  may  make  or 
mar  a  letter.  If  it  is  stilted  or  lacks  directness,  if  it  hasn't 
the  personal,  natural  tone  that  makes  the  reader  feel  you 
are  talking  to  him,  or  if  it  is  stereotyped  in  its  wording,  the 
letter  will  probably  go  to  the  waste-basket. 

Contrast  the  two  letters  that  follow.  Both  were  written 
to  accompany  a  catalogue.  Notice  that  the  first  begins 
and  ends  in  a  stereotyped  way;  has  too  few  details  to  arouse 
interest;  asks  for  an  order  but  has  no  inducement  to  give 
one  now;  and,  throughout,  lacks  the  personal,  convincing 
tone  that  makes  the  second  a  good  selling  letter.  Notice 
that  the  second  begins  with  you,  not  with  we,  and  keeps  the 
same  you  attitude  to  the  end. 

Turn  back  to  the  five  essentials  of  a  letter  given  on  page 
230.    See  if  you  can  differentiate  the  five  in  the  second  letter. 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  245 

I 
Dear  Sir: 

In  compliance  with  your  request  of  recent  date  we  are  sending 
you  our  latest  general  catalogue,  inasmuch  as  we  do  not  know 
which  department  catalogue  you  wish.  We  also  have  specialized 
books  for  jewelry,  furniture,  hardware,  and  drygoods.  On 
request  we  shall  be  glad  to  send  any  one  of  these  also. 

We  carry  the  biggest  line  of  Variety  Store  Leaders  in  the  coun- 
try, and  our  goods  are  always  of  the  best.  We  take  particular 
pains  to  acquaint  our  customers  with  the  latest  thing  in  the  trade, 
and  to  give  business-getting  suggestions.  Our  Co-operative 
Bureau  cheerfully  answers  all  inquiries. 

Trusting  we  shall  hear  from  you  with  an  order,  we  are 

Yours  truly, 


2 
Dear  Sir: 

Under  separate  cover  you  will  receive  a  copy  of  our  latest  gen- 
eral catalogue,  published  especially  for  owners  of  Variety  Stores. 
We  are  sending  you  the  general  catalogue  because  we  do  not 
know  whether  you  are  interested  in  a  particular  department. 
However,  if  your  business  specializes  in  any  one  class  of  goods 
—  such  as  jewelry,  furniture,  hardware,  or  drygoods  —  we 
shall  be  glad  to  supply  you  with  the  departmental  book  you  need. 
On  the  enclosed  postal  card  simply  check  the  one  you  wish,  and 
mail  the  card  to-day.     We  shall  foward  the  catalogue  at  once. 

You  may  know  that  we  always  have  on  hand  between 
two  hundred  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  different  Variety  Store 
Leaders,  affording  you  a  wide  selection  of  high-class  goods  of  the 
finest  materials,  the  neatest  workmanship,  and  the  latest  styles 
at  very  low  prices.  After  glancing  over  the  catalogue  you  will 
agree  with  us  that  in  every  department  of  our  huge  business  a 
dollar  has  full  purchasing  power. 

A  unique  feature  of  our  business,  moreover,  is  the  Co-operative 
Bureau,  which  you  will  find  a  decided  help  in  building  up  your 
business.  Each  week  the  Bureau  sends  out  a  Bulletin,  acquaint- 
ing our  customers  with  important  business  events  in  the  larger 
trade  centers,  with  suggestions  for  new  advertising  and  selling 
methods,  with  notices  of  new  stock  additions  that  make  espe- 
cially good  leaders,  and  with  advice  how  best  to  display  them. 
The  Bureau  invites  correspondence  and  sends  customers,  abso- 


246  COMPOSITION 

lutely  free  of  charge,  advice  on  new  store  arrangements,  window 
decorations,  and  advertising  plans. 

Your  first  order  makes  you  a  co-operating  member  and  entitles 
you  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  Bureau  and  the  services  of  an  insti- 
tution with  wide  experience  and  with  a  recognized  reputation  for 
square-dealing.  Fill  out  the  enclosed  order  blank,  mail  it  to-day, 
and  receive  this  week's  Bulletin  by  return  mail.  It  contains 
several  splendid  suggestions  for  novel,  inexpensive  advertising. 

Yours  truly, 

The  letter  given  above  is  personal  and  yet  dignified. 
Usually  that  is  the  best  style  to  use,  and  the  one  that  we 
wish  to  practice  writing.  Sometimes,  however,  results  can 
best  be  obtained  by  using  the  colloquial  or  even  jocular  tone 
illustrated  in  the  following  letter  sent  to  a  retailer  in 
Ottumwa,  Iowa: 

Dear  Sir: 

We  sell  cheese,  a  new  brand,  the  finest  kind  you  ever  tasted, 
put  up  in  the  most  attractive  package,  to  sell  at  the  most  attract- 
ive price.  Called  Par  Excellence  Creme,  wrapped  in  silver  foil 
with  a  gold  label,  it  sells  for  fifteen  cents  and  costs  you  ten.  Ever 
hear  a  better  proposition? 

Better  buy  now  before  your  rival  gets  ahead  of  you.  Every- 
body's calling  for  it.  Why?  Because  we're  advertising  every- 
where. It  has  been  out  only  one  month,  and  yet  sales  have  trebled 
our  highest  expectations.  Half  the  sales  of  a  new  cheese  depend 
on  the  package  and  the  price ;  the  other  half  depend  on  the  qual- 
ity.    All  three  are  right  in  Par  Excellence  Creme. 

Mr.  S.  R.  King,  our  Iowa  representative,  tried  to  see  you  last 
week,  but,  unfortunately,  he  was  unable  to  find  you  in.  Now, 
he  carries  a  full  line  of  our  samples,  and  it's  worth  the  time  it 
takes  just  to  see  how  good  they  look,  even  if  you  don't  care  to 
buy.  How  about  it?  Don't  you  want  to  see  them?  Mr.  King 
will  be  in  Ottiunwa  next  Wednesday. 

Yours  truly, 

This  style  is  commonly  called  *'  snappy."  It  has  its  advan- 
tage, but  should  be  used  only  rarely.  Above  all,  if  you  do  use 
it,  avoid  the  dash.     Notice  how  the  dash  spoils  the  following: 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  .    247 

Dear  Sir: 

Have  you  ever  eaten  that  king  of  nuts  —  the  budded  or  grafted 
paper  shell  pecan  —  the  nut  whose  kernel  is  as  nutritious  as  beef 
and  as  sweet  and  delicious  as  honey  —  the  nut  that  is  so  delight- 
fully palatable  and  so  wholesome,  the  discriminating  epicures  of 
two  continents  have  set  their  seal  of  approval  on  it  —  creating  a 
demand  that  literally  cannot  be  supplied  —  even  at  prices  ranging 
as  high  as  a  dollar  a  pound. 

To  use  the  dash  in  this  way  seems  to  imply  that  you  do 
not  understand  punctuation  or  sentence  structure.  If  the 
paragraph  is  rewritten,  removing  the  dashes  and  dividing 
into  sentences,  we  get  a  much  stronger  appeal.  The  dash 
makes  for  weakness  rather  than  for  strength  because  it 
suggests  hysterics. 

Dear  Sir: 

Have  you  ever  eaten  the  king  of  nuts,  the  budded  or  grafted 
paper  shell  pecan?  The  kernel  is  as  nutritious  as  beef  and  as 
sweet  as  honey.  It  is  so  wholesome  and  so  delicious  that  dis- 
criminating epicures  of  two  continents  have  set  their  approval 
on  it,  creating  a  demand  that  literally  cannot  be  supplied,  even 
at  prices  ranging  as  high  as  a  dollar  a  pound. 

A  very  good  way  to  open  a  sales  letter  is  to  get  the  atten- 
tion by  a  bit  of  narration  containing  direct  quotations,  as 
shown  in  the  following: 

Dear  Sir: 

"It  saves  seven  per  cent." 

So  said  Mr.  John  H.  Samuels,  a  manufacturer  of  Birmingham, 
Ala. 

He  had  watched  his  bookkeepers  at  their  work,  and  it  seemed 
to  him  that  their  main  business  was  turning  and  flattening  the 
springy  pages  of  the  bulgy  ledger.  Ten  seconds  were  wasted,  he 
said,  every  time  a  page  was  turned  —  almost  every  time  an  entry 
was  made  —  and  hardly  more  than  two  minutes  were  needed  to 
make  the  entry.  That  was  enough.  Each  of  his  twenty  men 
was  wasting  seven  per  cent  of  his  time. 

'^Try  hinged  paper,"  suggested  the  head  bookkeeper. 

Accordingly,  Mr.  Samuels  tried  several  kinds  of  hinged  paper, 


248    .  COMPOSITION 

only  to  find  that  the  hinged  section  tore,  broke,  or  cracked.  The 
time  that  the  clerks  now  saved  in  flattening  the  leaves  they  wasted 
in  rewriting  the  pages  that  had  torn  out. 

He  had  no  more  faith  in  hinged  papers  by  the  time  that  he  saw 
the  advertisement  of  the  Benton  hinge.  "As  strong  as  the  rest  of 
the  paper!  *'  he  scoffed.     ''We'll  see  about  this! " 

"Send  me  a  sample,''  he  wrote  us.  "If  your  ad  tells  the  truth, 
you  get  my  order." 

We  sent  it.  He  tested  it.  He  pulled  it,  crumpled  it,  ruled  on 
it,  erased  it  on  both  sides,  and  even  creased  it.  But  it  did  not 
break. 

Very  cautiously  and  doubtingly  he  tried  the  paper  in  one\ 
ledger  for  one  month.     He  found  that  the  book  rolled  flat  when- 
ever it  was  opened,  that  no  hinge  tore,  and  that  every  page  could 
be  used  from  binder  to  outer  edge. 

"It  does  the  work,"  he  told  our  salesman  at  the  end  of  tl 
month.     "It  saves  seven  per  cent.     Send  me  a  consignment^ 

If  you,  too,  are  paying  seven  per  cent  of  your  bookKepers' 
salaries  for  waste  motion,  let  us  send  you  a  sample.  It  will  cut 
down  your  expenses  as  it  cut  down  Mr.  Samuels\ 

Remember  that  you  put  yourself  under  no  obligation  to  us. 
You  take  no  risks.  Simply  promise  to  use  the  paper  if  we  send 
it  free. 

Yours  truly, 


Exercise  224 

Study  the  following  letters  and  letter  openings  for  good 
and  bad  qualities: 

I 
Dear  Sir: 

People  who  have  not  had  much  of  what  the  world  calls  "good 
luck"  find  it  hard  to  believe  an  opportunity  when  it  comes  — 
they  don't  feel  sure  about  it  —  on  the  other  hand,  people  who 
have  had  many  opportunities  have  a  natural  confidence  that 
every  opening  presented  is  intended  for  them  and  they  grasp  it 
with  an  assurance  that  begets  success. 

You  may  be  one  of  those  who  have  not  had  many  chances  to 
do  what  you  would  like  to  do  and  therefore  not  sure  that  my  offer 
is  an  opportunity.  For  that  reason  let  us  again  go  over  the 
points  of  advantage.  ...  * 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  249 

2, 
Dear  Sir: 

I  am  taking  the  liberty  of  writing  you  again  because  I  fear  you 
do  not  fully  realize  the  value  of  the  proposition  I  am  offering  you. 
Why,  man,  it's  the  opportunity  of  a  life-time!  .  .  .  (extended 
for  three  pages.) 

3 
Dear  Sir: 

If  we  wanted  to  know  just  what  kind  of  person  you  are,  do 
you  know  where  we'd  go  to  find  out?  We'd  ask  your  old  friends 
and  neighbors,  who  know  all  about  you  from  close  association. 

If  you  want  to  find  out  about  us  —  what  we  are  doing  and  what 
improvements  we  are  making  in  southern  Florida  —  the  best 
place  to  get  this  information  is  from  the  people  of  Florida,  who 
know  the  facts  from  first-hand  observation.  The  enclosed  clip- 
ping is  an  editorial  expression  —  not  a  paid  advertisement  —  from 
the  Ft.  Meyers  Press.  The  editor  is  under  no  obligation  to  us 
and  is  merely  expressing  the  opinion  of  the  people  here.  .  .  . 

4 

New  York,  Right  Now. 

A  Deal  or  Importance 

It  affects  YOU!  It  is  so  important  I  must  forego  the  pleasure 
of  a  personal  letter  in  order  to  write  5,000  people  to-day  —  500  of 
whom  —  the  wide-awake  ones  who  read  this  letter  through  — 
will  be  able  to  coin  it  into  dollars  —  real  money  —  money  you 
can  spend. 

What  we  now  offer  you  has  never  before  been  offered  by  any 
body  in  the  world.  It  is  a  combination  we  are  fortunate  enough, 
just  at  this  time,  to  be  able  to  offer  you,  because  of  an  important 
deal  we  have  just  closed  —  a  deal  that  may  easily  spell  dollars 
to  you.  Read  every  word  of  this  letter  —  it  may  be  —  possibly 
is  —  the  only  thing  to  make  you  a  successful  and  wealthy  man 

5 

R  F  D  4  Logansport,  Ind. 
8-26-1 I. 
Mr.  M.  H.  Smith,  etc. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  acknowledge  getting  your  telegram  over  the  telephone  yester- 
day, and  if  I  had  been  in  funds  would  have  answered  by  return 


250  COMPOSITION 

telegram,  but  such  is  life.  I  accommodated  a  friend  by  loaning 
him  $750,  which  will  probably  be  paid  the  last  week  of  never.  I 
thank  you  for  the  offer,  and  when  I  am  in  funds  will  call  on  you 
either  personaUy  or  by  letter.  y^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^ 

Exercise  225  —  Opening  an  Account 

Imagine  that  you  are  manager  of  a  wholesale  dry  goods 
house.  You  have  received  an  order  from  P.  H.  Powley,  23 
Water  street,  Franklin,  Mich.  As  you  do  not  know  Mr. 
Powley,  write  him,  stating  in  as  courteous  a  way  as  possible 
that,  as  this  is  his  first  order,  he  must  either  furnish  refer- 
ences or  send  a  remittance.  Make  your  letter  direct  and 
personal.     Include  some  good  selling  talk. 

The  exercise  above  illustrates  the  method  that  might  be 
adopted  in  case  of  a  small  order.  If  Mr.  Powley  had  sent 
a  large  order,  the  wholesale  house  would  no  doubt  con- 
sult a  financial  agency  to  discover  his  financial  condition; 
his  rating,  it  is  called.  If  his  name  were  not  found  in  the 
book  of  the  agency,  the  wholesale  house  would  require  Mr. 
Powley  to  send  a  correct  account  of  his  financial  standing; 
that  is,  a  list  of  his  assets  and  liabilities.  If  he  refused,  they 
would  not  do  business  with  him.  Why?  The  principal 
financial  agencies  are  Bradstreet  and  Dun.  Besides  these, 
there  are  many  mercantile  agencies.  They  give  any  infor- 
mation that  is  required  concerning  a  business  man.  All 
such  information  is  confidential. 

In  connection  with  this  exercise  study  the  letters  that 
follow: 

I 
Request  to  Open  an  Account 

Madison,  Wis.,  Sept.  16,  191 5. 
Wilson,  Brighton,  &  Co., 

,  68  Broadway,  New  York. 
Gentlemen: 

Until  recently  I  was  in  the  employ  of  Samuel  Stratton  &  Co. 
of  Milwaukee,  but  I  have  now  started  a  business  of  my  own,  for 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  251 

which  I  should  like  to  open  an  account  with  your  house.  As  to 
my  business  ability  and  financial  standing,  I  refer  you  to  my  late 
employers,  Samuel  Stratton  &  Co.  of  Milwaukee,  and  to  the 
Madison  State  Bank  of  this  city. 

If  on  investigation  you  decide  to  accept  me  as  a  customer, 
will  you  please  send  the  goods  on  the  enclosed  order,  deducting 
your  usual  discount  for  cash?  Upon  receipt  of  the  goods  and  of 
the  invoice,  I  shall  at  once  forward  a  sight  draft  on  the  Broadway 
National  Bank  of  your  city. 

Respectfully  yours, 

George  R.  Scott 

2 
Dear  Sir: 

In  seeking  information  through  the  usual  outside  channels  for 
basing  credit  for  you,  we  find  our  reports  have  not  been  sufficient 
in  detail  to  permit  us  to  arrange  this  matter  satisfactorily.  These 
reports  all  speak  very  highly  of  you  in  a  personal  way,  but  do  not 
give  us  the  required  information  financially. 

We  assume  you  want  our  goods  for  your  Christmas  trade.  It 
is  imperative,  therefore,  that  we  ship  immediately.  We  suggest 
that  on  this  order  you  send  us  a  draft,  in  consideration  of  which 
we  shall  be  pleased  to  allow  you  a  special  discount  of  4%.  Under- 
stand that  we  suggest  these  terms  on  this  first  order  only,  as  we 
feel  confident  that  we  can  easily  arrange  a  credit  basis  for  future 
shipments.  We  sincerely  trust  you  will  take  no  offense  at  the 
above  suggestion,  as  we  have  made  it  in  your  interest. 

Yours  very  truly, 

3 
Dear  Sir: 

Thank  you  for  the  order  you  sent  us  yesterday.  Its  size  con- 
firms the  belief  we  have  always  held  that  D is  a  rapidly 

growing  business  center,  the  right  place  for  a  retailer  to  settle 
and  prosper. 

After  careful  consideration  of  your  letter,  however,  we  have 
decided  to  hold  back  your  order  for  a  short  time.  You  cannot 
regret  this  more  than  we  do.  We  do  not  like  to  lose  your  account, 
and  yet,  under  the  circumstances,  we  feel  we  cannot  send  you  the 
order.  We  hope  you  can  sell  the  property  you  mentioned  in  your 
letter  and  thus  clear  up  the  balances  against  you.  Then  we 
shall  gladly  open  an  account  for  you. 


252  COMPOSITION 

We  are  especially  sorry  we  cannot  send  the  order  at  once,  as 
you  no  douDt  need  your  fall  stock  now.  Don't  you  think  it  would 
be  the  best  solution  if  you  would  send  us  your  remittance  for  $250 
now,  so  that  we  may  send  the  goods?  We  know  what  it  means 
to  buy  in  the  open  market  so  late  in  the  season.  We  assure  you 
that  on  receipt  of  a  remittance  the  order  will  go  through  imme- 
diately. 

Yours  truly, 
Exercise  226 

1.  Order  from  the  Grand  Rapids  Furniture  Co.,  Grand  Rapids, 
Mich.,  5  mahogany  rockers,  i  Turkish  rocker,  2  brass  beds,  12 
dining  room  chairs,  2  dining  room  tables.  Supply  catalogue 
numbers  and  give  shipping  directions. 

2.  The  Grand  Rapids  Furniture  Co.  replies,  acknowledging 
the  receipt  of  the  above  order  (give  date)  but  stating  that  you 
did  not  mention  how  you  would  pay  for  the  goods.  On  receipt  of 
a  certified  check  to  cover  the  amount,  or  of  the  names  of  two 
reliable  references,  they  will  be  pleased  to  send  you  the  order. 
Make  this  a  good  sales  letter. 

Exercise  227 

1.  You  are  a  florist  of  Rockford,  111.  Write  to  S.  M.  Porter 
&  Son,  155  S.  State  Street,  Chicago,  saying  that  this  fall  you  are 
opening  a  new  department  of  Landscape  Gardening.  Judging 
by  advance  orders,  you  will  need  approximately  200  shade  trees, 
maples  and  poplars;  200  fruit  trees  of  various  kinds;  and  several 
hundred  flowering  shrubs.  You  will  probably  duplicate  the 
order  in  the  spring.  Ask  for  terms,  saying  that  you  would  like 
to  open  an  account.     Give  two  references. 

2.  S.  M.  Porter  &  Son  reply,  acknowledging  your  order,  and 
saying  that  they  will  be  pleased  to  do  business  with  you  on  sixty 
days'  credit,  terms  50  and  5%.  If  this  is  satisfactory,  they  wiU 
add  your  name  to  their  books.    Make  it  a  sales  letter. 

Exercise  228 

I.  Samuel  Radford  of  Douglas,  Mich.,  wishes  to  buy  a  motor 
boat.  He  orders  of  the  Modern  Steel  Boat  Co.,  manufac- 
turers of  high  grade  motor  boats,  Detroit,  Mich.,  boat  No.  172, 
page  425,  catalogue  No.  10.  The  price  as  listed  is  $192.  He  ac- 
cepts the  offer  they  made  him —  (date),  of (terms)  and  en- 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  253 

closes  a  certified  check  for  the  amount.  He  gives  full  shipping 
directions.  (Be  sure  you  can  do  this.)  He  asks  how  cheaply 
he  can  obtain  cushions  for  the  boat. 

2.  The  company  reply:  They  have  shipped  the  boat.  (Is 
this  sufficiently  detailed?)  A  set  of  new  cushions  to  fit  the  boat 
costs  $25.  They  have  a  set  of  secondhand  cushions  in  excellent 
condition  for  $15.  If  Radford  desires  either  of  these,  he  should 
wire  at  once  at  their  expense. 

3.  Telegraph  his  decision. 

Exercise  229 

1.  Messrs.  Lee  and  Watkins,  druggists  of  Gallon,  Ohio,  wish 
to  open  an  account  with  Pierce,  King  &  Co.,  17  S.  Albany  St., 
Baltimore,  Md.,  for  the  purchase  of  large  orders  on  ninety  days' 
credit.  They  say  they  do  a  very  large  business  as  they  have 
the  only  drug  store  within  a  radius  of  several  miles.  They  give 
several  names  as  references.     Write  the  letter. 

2.  You  are  a  traveling  salesman  for  Pierce,  King  &  Co.  They 
write  you  at  the  Union  Hotel,  Columbus,  telling  you  of  the  fore- 
going letter,  a  copy  of  which  they  enclose,  and  asking  you  to  in- 
vestigate the  standing  of  Messrs.  Lee  and  Watkins. 

Reply  that  you  visited  the  drug  store  in  question  on  a  Tues- 
day (give  date),  because  in  your  experience  the  early  part  of  the 
week  is  very  quiet  in  the  business  of  small  towns.  Say  that  two 
clerks  were  kept  busy  constantly  and  that  several  people  spoke 
of  the  enormous  business  done  on  Saturdays  and  market  days. 
The  firm  has  good  credit  in  the  town.  You  are  satisfied  that  the 
gentlemen  in  question  are  reliable. 

3.  Write  from  Pierce,  King  &  Co.  to  Messrs.  Lee  and  Wat- 
kins,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  their  letter (date)  and  ex- 
pressing pleasure  in  being  able  to  enter  their  name  on  the  firm's 
books.     Write  as  courteous  a  letter  as  you  can. 

4.  Imagine  that  the  salesman's  reply  (2)  had  been  unfavorable. 
Write  to  Messrs.  Lee  and  Watkins,  refusing  them  credit  but 
trying  to  get  their  cash  business. 

Exercise  230  —  Letters  Requesting  Payment 

It  is  better  not  to  make  threats  in  a  collection  letter  except 
as  a  last  resort,  and  then  the  threat  should  be  carried  out.  It 
is  advisable  in  a  first  letter  of  the  kind  to  take  for  granted 


254  COMPOSITION 

that  a  customer  is  honest  and  that  the  failure  to  pay  is 
an  oversight.  If  some  inducement  for  further  purchases  is 
included  in  the  letter  in  the  form  of  good  selling  talk,  a 
remittance  will  probably  be  sent,  and  perhaps  another  order 
as  well. 

If  the  customer,  however,  takes  no  notice  of  the  first  letter, 
a  second,  making  the  request  for  payment  more  urgent, 
may  follow.  The  tone  of  the  second  letter  and  subsequent 
letters  will  depend  on  the  value  that  you  put  on  the  cus- 
tomer's trade.  Finally,  if  he  ignores  all  of  these  letters, 
dally  no  longer.  Say  that  if  payment  is  not  made  by  a 
certain  date,  you  will  draw  on  him  at  sight.  If  he  does 
not  honor  the  draft,  put  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  your 
attorney. 

Study  the  following  letters.  Select  from  them  those  that 
you  think  would  make  a  good  series: 

I 
Dear  Sir: 

Ten  days  ago  we  mailed  you  a  statement  of  your  account, 
which  was  due  at  that  time.  As  we  have  heard  nothing  from 
you,  we  have  concluded  that  the  letter  must  have  miscarried. 
We  are,  therefore,  enclosing  a  duplicate  of  the  former  statement. 
We  trust  that  it  will  reach  you  safely  and  have  your  prompt 
attention. 

Yours  very  truly, 

2 

Dear  Sir: 

Evidently  you,  too,  are  experiencing  the  increase  in  business 
that  our  customers  in  general  are  reporting.  In  the  rush  of  orders 
you  probably  have  overlooked  the  fact  that  your  account  with 
us  is  three  weeks  over-due.  Your  remittances  hitherto  have  been 
very  prompt,  and  we  trust  that  this  reminder  will  be  treated 
equally  promptly. 

By  the  way,  have  you  found  that  the  Holeless  Socks  are  coming 
up  to  our  guarantee?  From  all  parts  of  the  country  we  are  get- 
ting flattering  reports  in  the  form  6f  big  orders.  We  feel  that 
they  merit  their  popularity,  and  with  the  extensive  advertising 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  255 

campaign  that  we  have  inaugurated  they  are  bound  to  continue 
in  favor. 

We  are  especially  prepared  at  present  to  give  you  an  attractive 
price,  enabling  you  to  realize  large  profits  on  these  socks.    If  you 
need  more  of  them,  we  can  make  shipment  at  once. 
Yours  very  truly, 

3 
Dear  Sir: 

In  looking  over  our  accounts,  we  find  that  your  purchases  have 
lately  been  increasing  considerably,  and  that  your  payments  have 
been  few  and  unimportant.  Statements  have  been  sent  regularly, 
we  believe,  but  have  probably  been  overlooked  because  of  the 
stress  of  your  other  affairs.  Such  things,  of  course,  can  happen 
with  any  of  us,'  especially  when  we  have  many  other  matters  to 
look  after. 

We  have  always  valued  your  account,  and  we  greatly  desire 
our  pleasant  relations  to  continue.     As  the  amount  that  you  owe 
us  is  now  long  over-due,  we  would  appreciate  your  returning  the 
enclosed  bill  to  be  receipted  during  the  next  few  days. 
Yours  very  truly, 

4 
Dear  Sir: 

Your  attention  has  twice  been  called  to  your  account  for  $ , 

but  for  some  reason  you  do  not  reply  to  our  letters. 

Our  terms,  as  you  know,  are  thirty  days,  and  we  cannot  allow 
a  longer  extension  except  by  special  arrangement.  We  have 
borne  the  matter  very  patiently,  realizing  that  unusual  conditions 
sometimes  prevent  one's  doing  as  he  desires.  At  the  same  time, 
it  is  entirely  out  of  reason  that  your  account  should  still  be  owing 
at  this  time.  May  we  not  expect  your  remittance  by  return 
mail? 

Should  we  not  hear  from  you  by  the  15th,  we  shall  draw  on 
you,  and,  if  you  have  not  remitted  in  the  meantime,  please  pro- 
vide for  our  draft  upon  its  arrival. 

Yours  truly, 

5 
Dear  Sir: 

On  March  15  we  drew  on  you  for  $250.  Our  draft  has  been 
returned  to  us  by  the  Blank  Bank,  unpaid. 


256  COMPOSITION 

•  Your  account  is  long  past  due,  and,  although  we  are  willing  to 
do  almost  anything  to  accommodate  our  customers,  we  feel  that 
in  your  case  the  time  for  concessions  has  passed.  We  desire  your 
check  at  once  for  the  balance  due  us. 

You  are  credited  with  using  considerable  money  in  your  business, 
and  it  would  seem  that  you  should  without  difficulty  be  able  to 
take  care  of  amounts  such  as  you  owe  us.  If  we  do  not  hear 
from  you  by  April  i,  we  shall  send  a  second  draft.  If  you  permit 
this  to  be  returned  unpaid,  we  shall  be  compelled  to  take  action 
to  force  collection.  We  wish  to  express  the  hope,  however,  that 
you  will  not  allow  this  to  be  done. 

Yours  truly, 

Exercise  231 

Letter  (2)  above  is  written  primarily  to  get  a  check  for 
the  over-due  account  and  incidentally  to  get  another  order. 
Suppose  that  the  customer  sends  an  order  and  no  money. 
You  do  not  wish  to  extend  further  credit  until  the  old  balance 
is  paid.  Write  a  tactful  letter,  saying  that  you  will  hold 
back  the  order  until  you  receive  a  check  to  pay  the  over-due 
account. 

Exercise  232 

Write  the  letters  in  the  following  transaction: 

1.  J.  F.  Brookmeyer,  Peru,  Ind.,  is  a  dealer  in  shoes.  He 
opened  an  account  with  you  a  month  ago.  He  has  purchased 
shoes  to  the  amount  of  $250.  You  rendered  an  account  on  the 
first  of  the  month,  two  weeks  ago.  Write  a  letter  saying  that 
you  do  not  carry  over  accounts  from  month  to  month,  as  your  small 
margin  of  profit  makes  it  impossible  for  you  to  carry  an  irregular 
account.  Make  it  a  courteous  sales  letter  as  well  as  a  collection 
letter. 

2.  J.  H.  Brookmeyer  sends  a  certified  check  for  the  full  amount, 
apologizing  for  the  delay. 

Exercise  233 

I.  John  R.  Phillips,  32  New  York  Building,  Seattle,  Washing- 
ton, owes  you  $470.  Write  him,  saying  that  you  need  the 
money.    Give  a  good  reason.    Make  it  a  courteous,  friendly  letter. 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  257 

2.  Mr.  Phillips  has  not  answered  (i).     Write  him  again,  saying 

that  if  you  do  not  get  a  remittance  by ,  you  will  draw  on 

him  at  sight. 

3.  Your  bank  notifies  you  that  your  draft  has  been  returned 
unpaid.  Write  Phillips,  asking  for  an  explanation.  Say  that 
unless  you  hear  by ,  you  will  bring  suit. 

4.  PhiUips  writes  an  apologetic  letter,  giving  illness  as  the 
reason  for  his  non-payment.  He  says  he  was  in  the  hospital  and 
did  not  receive  letters  (i)  and  (2).  He  encloses  fifty  dollars  and 
promises  to  pay  at  least  half  the  balance  next  month,  the  full 
amount  within  sixty  days.     Write  his  letter. 

5.  Accept  this  offer. 

Exercise  234  —  Answering  Complaints 

1.  A  mail  order  house  discovered  that  its  files  contained  the 
names  of  10,000  people  who  had  once  been  customers  but  who 
had  not  bought  anything  for  the  last  two  or  three  years.  Write 
a  letter  in  the  name  of  the  manager  frankly  asking  why  the 
customer  has  stopped  buying.    Advertise  the  stock. 

2.  One  correspondent  in  reply  demands  a  return  of  $16, 
which  he  had  paid  for  a  coat  that  was  "not  worth  a  cent."  How 
would  you  reply  to  this  letter  so  that  the  one  making  the  complaint 
would  send  in  an  order?     Write  the  letter. 

In  connection  with  this  exercise  study  the  following  letter: 

Dear  Sir: 

We  wish  to  acknowledge  your  letter  of  April  16,  in  which  you 
say  that  on  April  14  you  received  a  bill  for  five  S  &  Q  Railway 
bonds,  which  Mr.  Wensley  had  sold  you  on  the  nth  at  100  and 
interest;  that  you  sent  us  your  check  for  the  amount  on  the  same 
day;  and  that  on  the  i6th,  two  days  afterward,  you  received  a 
letter  from  us,  offering  a  new  block  of  these  bonds  at  99  and 
interest. 

This  complication  was  brought  about  through  a  peculiar  chain 
of  circumstances,  an  explanation  of  which,  we  feel,  is  only  just 
both  to  you  and  to  us.  When  Mr.  Wensley  came  to  the  office  on 
Saturday,  the  12th,  he  told  us  that  he  had  your  order  for  five  of 
these  bonds  at  looi  and  interest.  The  market  price  was  then 
100  and  interest,  and  we  were  very  glad  to  give  you  the  benefit 
of  the  more  favorable  price.    At  that  time  we  had  no  intimation 


2S8  COMPOSITION 

that  more  of  these  bonds  were  coming  on  the  market.  Quite 
unexpectedly  on  Monday  we  received  notice  from  our  Boston 
office  that  they  had  in  view  a  new  block  of  the  bonds.  Even  at 
that  time  we  did  not  know  definitely  that  we  would  get  them. 
On  Tuesday,  again  quite  unexpectedly,  we  were  instructed  by  our 
Boston  office  that  the  bonds  had  been  secured  and  were  to  be 
offered  immediately  at  99  and  interest.  So  suddenly  did  the 
entire  transaction  take  place  that  we  were  unable  to  prepare  a 
new  circular,  and  on  Tuesday  night  we  merely  sent  out  a  letter, 
telling  our  customers  that  we  had  an  additional  block  of  these 
bonds.  In  fact,  the  new  circular  will  not  be  ready  until  about 
noon  of  to-morrow. 

We  realize  that  you  should  have  been  informed  of  the  new 
price.  The  bonds,  however,  came  on  the  market  so  quickly  and 
in  taking  care  of  the  details  of  the  offering  we  were  so  busy  that 
the  matter,  unfortunately,  was  overlooked.  We  are  glad,  there- 
fore, to  make  adjustment  of  the  price  now  by  having  our  banking 
department  send  you  our  check  for  $50. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  say,  we  presume,  that  we  regret  this 
occurrence  and  to  assure  you  that  had  we  known  of  the  new  bonds 
on  Saturday  we  would  have  advised  you  to  hold  off  your  purchase 
until  the  offering  was  ready.  We  feel  that  you  know  us  and  the 
policy  of  our  house  well  enough  to  be  sure  that  we  would  not  will- 
fully take  advantage  of  you  in  this  way.  We  trust  that  the 
arrangement  that  we  have  made  satisfactorily  straightens  out 
the  matter. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Exercise  235 

1.  What  is  the  advantage  of  the  policy  shown  in  the  follow- 
ing suggestion  from  System? 

The  manager  of  a  retail  establishment  says:  ''We  never 
refuse  to  refund  money.  If  a  dissatisfied  customer  returns  a 
purchase,  before  we  ask  what  the  trouble  is  we  refund  his  money 
gladly.  When  he  is  free  to  walk  out  of  the  store  with  his  money, 
we  try  to  find  the  source  of  the  trouble.  Generally  we  can  adjust 
the  difficulty  and  make  a  sale." 

2.  State  the  advantage  in  the  policy  of  a  large  clothing 
concern  which  follows  the  sale  of  every  suit  or  overcoat 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  259 

with  a  letter  to  the  customer,  asking  him  whether  the  pur- 
chase is  proving  satisfactory. 
3.  Write  such  a  letter. 

Exercise  236 

1.  Conrad  H.  Harwood  of  122  Winter  Street,  Vandalia,  111., 
writes  to  Wilson,  Black  &  Co.,  manufacturers  of  shoes,  100  Second 
Street,  Lynn,  Mass.,  asking  why  they  are  not  sending  his  order  of 

(the  goods  ordered)    of  (date).     He  is  losing  sales 

because  of  the  delay.     If  the  goods  are  not  received  before , 

Harwood  will  cancel  the  order. 

2.  Wilson,  Black  &  Co.  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  Harwood's 
letter  and  say  that  this  is  the  first  notice  they  have  received  of 
such  an  order.  The  first  letter  must  have  miscarried.  They 
have  shipped  the  goods.     Be  very  courteous. 

Exercise  237 

1.  C.  F.  Gardner,  a  merchant  of  432  Puyallup  Ave.,  Tacoma, 
Wash.,  has  received  notice  from  the  CM.  &  P.S.R.R.  freight 
ofiice  that  a  box  of  goods  has  arrived  from  Messrs.  Fiske  &  Jones, 
Detroit,  Mich.  Gardner  ordered  the  goods  a  month  ago.  He 
writes  Messrs.  Fiske  &  Jones  that  he  refuses  to  accept  the  goods 
because  of  the  delay.  He  has  bought  elsewhere  in  the  mean- 
time. 

2.  Fiske  &  Jones  apologize  for  the  delay  and  explain  that  it 
was  due  to  the  unreliability  of  one  of  their  shipping  clerks,  who 
has  since  been  discharged.  They  had  known  nothing  of  the 
matter  until  Gardner's  letter  of  complaint  arrived.  They  assure 
him  that  he  will  never  suffer  another  such  inconvenience. 

3.  Fiske  &  Jones  telegraph  the  CM.  &  P.S.R.R.  to  return  the 
goods  at  Fiske  &  Jones's  expense.     Write  the  telegram. 

Exercise  238  —  Letters  of  Application 

A  letter  of  application  usually  has  three  parts.  In  writ- 
ing such  a  letter,  first,  tell  where  you  saw  the  advertisement 
and  apply  for  the  position;  second,  tell  your  qualifications 
and  give  your  references;  third,  end  the  letter  appropri- 
ately, possibly  asking  for  an  interview. 


26o  COMPOSITION 

This  is  a  difficult  kind  of  letter  to  write.  Not  only  should 
it  be  neat  in  appearance  and  clearly  written,  but  it  should 
be  so  carefully  worded  that  it  will  show  enough  of  the  writer's 
individuality  to  distinguish  it  from  a  form.  Be  neither 
hesitant  nor  bold,  but  tell  your  qualifications  in  a  simple, 
straightforward  way. 

Study  the  following  letters.  Are  they  convincing?  Do 
they  show  the  personaHty  of  the  writers,  or  are  they  mere 
forms? 

I 
Gentlemen: 

Your  advertisement  in  to-day's  Record  for  a  salesman  who 
knows  the  tea  and  coffee  business  interests  me.  I  should  like 
you  to  consider  my  application  for  the  position. 

Since  my  graduation  from  the  Blank  High  School,  four  years 
ago,  I  have  been  employed  as  salesman  for  the  Economy  Whole- 
sale Coffee  Co.,  a  firm  doing  business  in  this  city  and  its  outlying 
districts.  During  these  four  years  I  have  gathered  a  wide  knowl- 
edge of  the  principles  of  the  buying  and  selling  of  coffees  and  teas 
and  of  the  grades  and  blends  of  both,  just  the  training,  it  seems  to 
me,  that  you  wish  to  secure. 

You  may  depend  upon  my  taking  an  active  interest  in  your 
business,  because  I  have  an  intense  desire  to  advance.  I  myself 
vouch  for  my  honesty  and  earnestness,  and  Mr.  Robert  Brown  of 
the  firm  mentioned  above  has  assured  me  that  he  will  supply  you 
with  any  information  that  you  may  wish  as  to  my  character  or 
ability.     He  endorses  my  desire  to  secure  a  broadei  opportunity. 

If  the  position  that  you  have  to  offer  is  one  in  which  there  is 
a  real  future  for  an  energetic,  capable  man,  I  should  like  to  have 
an  interview  with  you. 

Yours  very  respectfully, 

2 

Dear  Sir: 

I  am  answering  your  advertisement  in  to-day's  Record  for  a 
clerk  because  I  wish  to  get  started  in  the  wholesale  dry  goods 
business,  my  idea  being  to  work  into  the  sales  department.  If 
the  position  that  you  advertise  affords  such  an  opportunity,  I 
wish  to  apply  for  it. 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  261 

I  have  had  a  little  experience  in  the  retail  dry  goods  business, 
having  worked  as  clerk  for  Mr.  Amos  Jones  of  this  city  during 
the  past  two  summers.  What  I  have  seen  and  learned  of  the 
business  makes  me  feel  that  I  have  ability  as  a  dry  goods  sales- 
man. I  shall  be  glad  to  work  hard  in  a  clerical  position  if  only 
I  get  a  chance  to  learn  and  to  advance. 

I  am  eighteen  years  of  age  and  have  just  graduated  from  the 
Blank  High  School,  where  I  took  the  four-year  commercial  course. 
This,  as  you  know,  includes  business  arithmetic,  bookkeeping, 
and  some  business  practice.  During  the  last-  two  years  I  was 
business  manager  of  the  high  school  paper.  This  position  gave 
me  considerable  experience  in  handling  details  rapidly  and  in 
soliciting  advertising.  It  is  this  latter  experience  that  makes  me 
feel  that  I  would  have  success  in  selling. 

I  am  confident  that  I  can  please  you,  and  I  should  be  grateful 
if  you  will  grant  me  an  interview.     Mr.  Amos  Jones,  815  E.  47th 
St.,  will  be  glad  to  give  you  any  information  that  you  may  wish  as 
to  my  work,  and  if  you  desire  I  can  furnish  other  references.  ^ 
Yours  respectfully, 

Exercise  239 

Apply  for  the  following  positions: 

1.  OFFICE  MAN  —  who  can  handle  correspondence  and  general  office 

work  for  growing  North  side  manufacturing  company.  Good 
opportunity  for  the  right  man.  State  experience  and  salary 
expected.    Address  A.  H.  Stanton,  1 7  Elm  St. 

2.  MAIL  ORDER  MAN  —  up-to-date,  experienced;  must  have  ability 

and  be  capable  of  handling  a  large  volume  of  correspondence;  must 
also  be  a  pusher  and  systematizer.  In  reply  give  references,  age, 
and  detailed  experience.    Address  X.  W.  291  News. 

3.  AMBITIOUS  YOUNG  MEN  — who  are  willing  to  start  at  the 

bottom  to  learn  steel  and  iron  business;  must  be  high  school  or 
college  graduates,  or  have  equivalent  education,  and  furnish  excep- 
tional references;  very  good  opportunity  for  the  future.  Address 
A.  F.  361  Times. 

4.  BRIGHT  YOUNG  MAN  —  for  office  work  in  large  manufacturing 

plant.  Northwest  side;  must  be  neat,  quick,  and  accurate  at 
figures.  State  age,  experience,  and  salary  expected.  Address 
J.  F.  Holtz  &  Co.,  320  W.  Exchange  St. 


262  COMPOSITION 

5.  OFFICE  CLERK  —  a  girl  who  can  write  a  plain,  rapid,  legible  hand; 

desirable,  permanent  position,  and  excellent  chance  for  advance- 
ment. Give  age,  experience,  if  any,  and  where  formerly  employed. 
Salary  $6.00  to  start.     Address  T.  P.  514  Chronicle. 

6.  HELP  WANTED  —  salesman  having  established  trade  on  rubber  or 

leather  footwear  in  Michigan,  northern  Indiana,  northwest  Ohio, 
or  eastern  Wisconsin.  Good  chance  to  become  connected  with 
live  middle- western  jobbing  house.  Give  late  experience.  Address 
G724  Boot  and  Shoe  Recorder,  Boston,  Mass. 

Exercise  240  —  Contract  for  Painting  Iron  Work 

1.  James  W.  Walker  &  Co.,  325  Second  St.,  Pittsburgh,  are 
receiving  bids  for  painting  the  iron  v^ork  of  the  bridge  to  be 
constructed  over  the  Cheesequake  Creek  at  Morgan  Station, 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.  The  Barnard  Emerson  Co.,  of  Harrisburg, 
Pa.,  write  saying  they  would  like  to  figure  on  the  work.  They 
ask  'James  W.  Walker  &  Co*,  to  send  plans  and  specifications. 
Write  the  letter  sent  by  the  Barnard  Emerson  Co. 

2.  James  W.  Walker  &  Co.  reply  that  they  are  sending  plans 
and  specifications.  They  say  that  bids  must  be  in  by  March  10. 
Write  the  letter. 

3.  The  Barnard  Emerson  Co.  write  that  page  two,  line  four, 
of  the  specifications  for  the  bridge  to  be  constructed  (state  in 
detail)  reads  "and  paint  all  beams  underneath  two  coats  of  dark 
green,"  and  page  four,  line  ten,  reads  "all  upright  beams  above 
and  underneath  to  be  painted  two  coats  of  light  green  between 
shades  three  and  four."  They  ask  which  is  correct.  Write  the 
letter.    Be  exact. 

4.  James  W.  Walker  &  Co.  reply  that  page  two,  line  four,  is 
correct.     Explain  in  detail. 

5.  The  Barnard  Emerson  Co.  agree  to  do  the  work  on  (repeat 
exactly  what  bridge  you  mean)  for  three  thousand  dollars.  They 
guarantee  to  finish  the  work  by  April  30,  according  to  the  speci- 
fications. They  will  forfeit  fifty  dollars  for  every  day  after  that 
date  until  the  bridge  is  finished.     Write  the  proposal  or  bid. 

6.  James  W.  Walker  &  Co.  write,  saying  that  they  accept  the 
bid  above  and  that  they  enclose  duplicate  contracts,  one  of  which 
they  have  signed  and  which  the  Barnard  Emerson  Co.  is  to  keep. 
The  other  the  Barnard  Emerson  Co.  is  to  sign  and  return  to 
James  W.  Walker  &  Co. 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  263 


Exercise  241 — Contract  for  the  Delivery  of  Property 

1.  The  Arlington  Coal  Company,  Old  Colony  Building,  Chi- 
cago, 111.,  write  to  the  Red  Rock  Coal  Company,  Auburn,  111., 
saying  that  they  need  several  cars  of  egg  coal  per  week  through- 
out the  year.  They  ask  if  the  Red  Rock  Coal  Co.  wish  to  offer 
some  on  contract.  If  so,  they  must  state  how  the  coal  is  screened, 
and  give  their  lowest  price.     Write  the  letter. 

2.  The  Red  Rock  Coal  Co.  reply  that  they  will  offer  egg  coal 
for  shipment  at  the  rate  of  two  cars  per  week  throughout  the  year, 
at  $1.15  per  net  ton,  cars  f.o.b.  mines.  If  a  contract  were  drawn 
up  for  three  or  more  cars  per  week,  they  would  give  the  coal  for 
$1.1 2  J  per  net  ton.  They  say  their  egg  is  an  excellent  steam  pro- 
ducing coal  and  gives  general  satisfaction.  It  is  shipped  from  the 
Red  Rock  mine  via  the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad,  freight  rate 
being  82^  per  ton.     Write  the  letter. 

3.  The  Arlington  Coal  Co.  write  that  the  Red  Rock  Coal  Co. 
may  send  a  one  year  contract  drawn  in  triplicate  for  three  cars  of 
egg  coal  per  week  at  $1.1 2i  per  net  ton,  cars  f.o.b.  mines.  Of 
course  it  is  understood  that  the  usual  clauses  regarding  accidents 
or  other  unavoidable  happenings  on  either  side  will  be  inserted. 
Write  the  letter. 


Exercise  242  —  Contract  for  Construction 

News  Item.  —  Bids  will  be  received  until  Dec.  12  by 
the  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works,  North  Bend, 
Washington,  for  the  construction  of  a  solid  concrete  bridge 
over  the  Snoqualmie  River  at  North  Bend;  double  arch,  with 
one  pier  in  the  river;  span  of  arch  92  feet;  width  of  bridge 
50  feet.     Plans  may  be  had  by  addressing  the  Chairman. 

The  McClaine  Construction  Co.,  of  Spokane,  Wash.,  send  in  a 
bid  for  $25,000,  guaranteeing  to  use  Atlas  Portland  cement, 
crushed  rock  for  the  coarse  aggregate,  and  torpedo  sand  for  the 
fine  aggregate,  the  concrete  to  be  reinforced  with  the  Kahn  sys- 
tem of  reinforcement  as  set  forth  in  the  specifications.  The  com- 
pany specify,  further,  that  they  shall  be  paid  extra  for  excavation, 
on  the  scale  of  25^  a  yard  for  earth,  75izf  a  yard  for  loose  rock 
and  hard  pan,  and  $1.00  a  yard  for  solid  rock.  Write  the  letter 
that  they  send. 


264  COMPOSITION 

Exercise  243  —  Form  Letters 

It  frequently  happens  in  business  that  you  receive  a 
number  of  letters  requiring  practically  the  same  answer. 
In  such  cases,  the  best  plan  is  to  have  one  letter  that  is  as 
good  a  letter  of  its  kind  as  you  can  write.  Use  that  as  an 
answer  to  all  those  to  which  it  can  be  made  to  apply. 
You  may  have  to  add  a  bit  of  information  or  change  a  word 
here  and  there,  but,  practically,  you  are  using  the  same 
form  for  all  the  letters.  When  you  have  mastered  the 
form,  the  answering  of  letters  of  this  class  will  be  a  simple 
matter.  The  letter  accompanying  a  catalogue  may  easily 
be  a  form.  (See  the  second  letter  in  Exercise  223.) 

The  danger,  however,  is  that  the  use  of  form  letters  tends 
to  make  work  mechanical.  When  letters  are  different,  they 
must  receive  different  replies.  A  form  letter  should  never 
be  used  just  because  it  is  easy  to  use  when  it  does  not 
really  apply. 

Mandel  Bros.,  Chicago,  111.,  announce  their  annual  sale 
of  silk  remnants.  Make  this  a  good  advertisement  that  will 
reach  several  classes  of  customers.  Have  in  it  as  one  item 
white  wash  silk  of  heavy  quality,  36  inches  wide,  at  47  cents 
a  yard. 

1.  Make  out  a  sales  letter  for  the  above. 

2.  Several  mail  orders  have  been  received  in  excess  of  the 
supply.  Make  out  a  form  letter  that  could  be  sent  when  the 
money  is  returned.  What  is  the  advantage  of  a  form  letter  in 
this  case? 

Exercise  244  —  Circular  and  Follow-up  Letters 

There  is  a  class  of  letters  that  usually  originates  in  the 
advertising  department  of  a  firm.  They  are  not  sent  out  to 
answer  inquiries,  but  to  solicit  new  customers  and  to  keep 
old  ones.  Such  letters  are  printed  in  large  numbers  in 
imitation  of  typewriting,  and  the  introduction  and  the 
salutation   are   afterward  carefully  filled  in   on  the  type- 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  265 

writer.  The  intention,  of  course,  is  to  make  the  recipient 
feel  that  he  has  received  a  personal  letter.  Firms  are 
generally  careful  to  fill  in  the  signature  in  pen  and  ink. 
These  are  called  circular  letters.  (See  the  last  letter  in 
Exercise  223.) 

These  letters  are  very  important  and  each  year  more 
numerous.  Frequently  a  series  of  them  is  written,  each  one 
expanding  one  argument  in  a  series  of  arguments.  If  all  the 
letters  are  read,  one  after  the  other,  you  have  a  complete 
list  of  reasons  why  you  should  buy  the  particular  article 
which  the  letters  advertise.  These  letters  are  sent  out  regu- 
larly, so  that  the  effect  of  one  may  not  quite  wear  off  before 
the  next  arrives.  It  is  frequently  the  case  that  not  until 
the  third  or  fourth  letter  is  sent  out  does  any  reply  come. 
Such  letters  should  be  definitely  planned  in  order  to  present 
arguments  that  are  true  and  attractive.  They  must  be 
simply  and  clearly  written.     They  are  called  follow-up  letters. 

The  following  series  of  follow-up  letters  was  intended  to  be 
sent  to  women  who  keep  no  maids.  The  series  was  planned 
to  contain  five  letters.  Write  two  more,  using  different 
appeals  from  those  in  the  letters  here  given. 

I 
Dear  Madam: 

Do  you  remember  the  fairy  tale  of  Little  Two-Eyes? 

A  fairy,  out  of  pity  for  the  child's  hunger,  spread  a  table  before 
her  each  day  as  she  was  watching  the  goat  in  the  field,  and  when 
her  appetite  was  satisfied  all  the  child  had  to  say  was,  "Table  clear 
yourself,"  and  the  dishes  magically  disappeared. 

"This  is  a  beautiful  way  to  keep  house,"  was  Two-Eyes'  ver- 
dict, and  every  woman,  thinking  of  her  own  distaste  of  dirty 
dishes,  will  agree. 

"How  I  hate  dishwashing!"  You  have  said  it  hundreds  of 
times  —  after  every  meal,  probably. 

"I  like  to  cook  and  bake,"  you  declare.  "They  are  really 
interesting.     There  is  fun  in  trying  new  recipes  —  but  the  dishes! " 

You  enjoy  giving  luncheon  and  dinner  parties.  It  is  a  de- 
lightful way  of  meeting  one's  friends.    Moreover,  you  are  justly 


266  COMPOSITION 

proud  of  your  skill  in  cooking,  and  you  like  to  show  your  beauti- 
ful china.  But  what  a  damper  it  is  on  your  spirit  of  good-fellow- 
ship, after  the  guests  are  gone,  to  have  to  spend  an  hour  or  more 
washing  the  dishes.  Then  you  would  like  to  say,  with  the  child 
in  the  story,  '* Dishes  wash  yourselves!''    Wouldn't  you? 

Well,  you  may.  For  thirty  days  —  ninety  meals  —  we  will 
put  the  Fairy  Dishwasher  in  your  home,  without  charging  you  a 
penny. 

The  machine  is  simplicity  itself.  Wheel  the  cabinet  into  your 
dining  room,  alongside  your  serving  table,  and,  as  a  course  is 
finished,  without  rising  from  your  place,  stack  the  dishes  into  the 
washer.  When  you  have  finished  the  meal,  wheel  the  cabinet 
into  your  kitchen,  make  the  connection,  and  turn  the  switch. 
In  a  few  minutes  the  dishes  are  washed  and  dried.  Having 
friends  in  to  dinner  is  fun  when  the  Fairy  washes  the  dishes. 

Let  the  Fairy  do  yours.  Simply  return  this  letter  to  us  in  the 
enclosed  envelope,  making  sure  that  your  name  and  address  are 
correct,  and  we'll  send  you  the  Fairy.  Use  it  three  times  a  day 
for  thirty  days.  Then  if  you  think  you  can  get  along  as  well 
without  the  machine,  all  that  you  need  to  do  is  to  send  us  a  postal 
card,  telling  us  so.  We'll  take  back  the  Fairy  and  ask  no  ques- 
tions. 

But  send  to-day. 

Yours  very  truly, 

2 

Dear  Madam: 

Did  you  ever  envy  another  woman's  smooth,  white  hands? 
You  looked  at  hers,  and  then  you  looked  at  yours;  you  sighed 
and  thought,  ''It's  dishwashing." 

But  what  can  you  do?  Haven't  you  tried  everything  to  make 
dishwashing  less  drudgery?  Haven't  you  tried  patent  soaps  and 
tepid  water,  only  to  find  that  the  dishes  were  not  clean?  Haven't 
you  tried  dish  mops,  scrapers,  and  rubber  gloves,  only  to  find 
that  the  mop  and  the  scraper  saved  but  one  hand?  As  for  rubber 
gloves,  as  likely  as  not,  the  first  time  you  used  them  they  were 
caught  on  the  prong  of  a  fork  and  were  thereafter  useless.  Yes, 
you've  tried  everything;  haven't  you? 

No,  you  haven't.  You  have  not  tried  the  only  sure  help  that 
there  is.     Stop  your  drudgery  and  let  the  Fairy  wash  your  dishes. 

For  thirty  days  —  ninety  trials  —  we  will  put  the  Fairy  Dish- 
washer in  your  home,  absolutely  free  of  charge,  guaranteed  to 


BUSINESS  LETTERS  267 

wash  and  sterilize  your  dishes  in  boiling  water,  without  a  touch 
of  your  hand. 

Do  your  manicuring  while  the  Fairy  does  the  dishes. 

Pay  no  money,  but  send  the  enclosed  postal  card  to-day.  It 
will  bring  the  Fairy  at  once. 

Very  truly  yours, 

3 
Dear  Madam: 

An  extra  hour  of  leisure  every  day!    What  is  it  worth  to  you? 

Think  what  you  could  do  if  some  one  would  give  you  an  extra 
hour  of  leisure  every  day.  There's  the  book  you  would  like  to 
read,  the  call  you  ought  to  make,  the  embroidery  you  wish  you 
could  finish.  There  are  the  thousand  and  one  things  that  a  house- 
keeper continually  wishes  she  could  do  —  but  where  can  she  get 
the  time? 

And  yet  you  waste  at  least  an  hour  each  day  washing  dishes 
when  the  Fairy  Dishwasher  will  not  only  save  you  the  time  but 
rid  you  of  a  distasteful  task.  You  pay  i6f  cents  a  day  for  five 
months  and  the  Fairy  does  your  dishes  every  day;  you  buy 
yourself  an  extra  hour  every  day,  —  you  are  an  hour  ahead 
every  day  for  the  rest  of  your  life. 

Is  it  worth  the  price? 

Remember  that  we  allow  you  to  use  the  Fairy  for  thirty  days 
—  ninety  meals  —  before  you  pay  a  penny.  Then  for  five  months 
you  send  us  five  dollars  a  month,  and  we  guarantee  that  you  will 
declare  it  the  best  twenty-five  dollars  that  you  ever  spent. 

Send  the  enclosed  postal  card  to-day.  It  will  bring  the  Fairy 
and  a  booklet  of  full  directions. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Exercise  245 

You  have  bought  a  big  tract  of  land  in  Alabama.  You 
wish  to  sell  a  part  uncleared,  to  set  out  a  part  in  pecan  trees, 
and  to  devote  a  part  to  truck  farms.  Write  three  letters 
to  the  same  man,  making  each  one  stronger  than  the  one 
before.  Keep  in  mind  the  five  essentials  of  a  good  letter. 
(See  page  230.) 

I.  Offer  the  uncleared  land  at  a  very  low  price.  Offer  as 
many  inducements  as  you  can,  such  as  desirability  of  location, 


268  COMPOSITION 

fertility  of  the  soil,  and  comparison  in  price  with  other  land  in 
the  same  neighborhood. 

2.  You  received  no  response  from  (i).  Try  to  sell  the  sec- 
tion in  which  you  are  planting  pecan  trees.  What  inducements 
could  you  offer  that  might  reach  a  man  who  was  not  affected 
by  (i)? 

3.  You  received  no  response  from  (i)  or  (2).  Try  to  sell  a 
truck  farm.  What  inducements  could  you  offer  that  might  lead 
a  man  to  buy  a  truck  farm  when  he  had  no  interest  in  either 
uncleared  land  or  pecan  trees? 

Exercise  246 

1.  The  Modern  Magazine  offers  a  set  of  Mark  Twain's  com- 
plete works  absolutely  free  if  you  subscribe  for  one  year  for  the 
Modern  Magazine  and  the  Household  Magazine  at  the  regular 
price  of  $2  for  the  Modern  Magazine  and  $1.50  for  the  House- 
hold Magazine.     This  offer  expires (date).     Write  the  letter. 

2.  You  have  not  responded.  The  Modern  Magazine  feels 
that  you  could  not  have  understood  its  offer.  These  are  no  cheap 
books.  To  prove  this,  the  firm  is  willing  to  send  you  the  books 
to  allow  you  to  examine  them  before  you  send  any  money.  If 
you  accept  them,  pay  the  express  agent;  if  not,  return  the  books 
at  the  expense  of  the  Modern  Magazine,  Remember  that  this 
offer  expires (date). 

3.  You  have  not  responded.  The  magazine  extends  the  time. 
Give  a  reason  for  the  extension  of  the  time. 

What  criticism  can  you  make  on  (3)? 

Exercise  247 

A  druggist  was  obliged  to  move  from  his  corner  store  four 
doors  east  on  a  side  street.  He  decided  to  advertise  by  send- 
ing a  series  of  follow-up  letters  embodying  the  following 
ideas: 

1.  Change  of  location  because . 

2.  Stick  to  your  druggist  because  he  holds  the  key  to  your 
health. 

3.  What  is  the  reason  that  my  trade  is  staying  with  me? 
(Prizes  for  the  best  answer.) 


BUSINESS   LETTERS  269 

4.  The  reasons  why  trade  stays  with  me  —  what  my  patrons 
say. 

5.  The  pure  food  question  —  why  we  must  handle  only  fresh 
drugs. 

6.  We  are  registered  pharmacists  —  what  this  means  to  you. 

7.  Why  our  sales  expense  is  smaller  now  than  formerly  —  how 
you  profit. 

Exercise  248 

A  furniture  house  selling  goods  on  monthly  payments 
decides  to  advertise  by  sending  a  series  of  follow-up  letters, 
using  the  following  reasons  why  you  should  buy,  one  in  each 
letter: 

1.  Variety  of  stock,  assuring  you  that  they  can  please,  no  mat- 
ter what  you  wish.     Amplify. 

2.  Reliability  of  the  firm. 

3.  The  small  profit  on  which  they  run  their  business  gives  you 
an  excellent  opportunity  of  buying  good  values  at  low  prices. 

4.  Buying  on  the  ''easy  payment '^  plan  enables  you  to  have 
the  use  of  your  furniture  while  you  are  still  paying  for  it. 

Why  is  (4)  a  poor  argument? 

Exercise  249 

Write  a  series  of  letters  to  sell  an  electric  washing  machine, 
using  the  following  items: 

1.  The  machine  is  ball  bearing;  therefore  very  easy  to  work. 
You  can  sit  down  while  you  do  your  week's  washing.  The  only 
work  required  is  hanging  the  clothes  out  of  doors. 

2.  It  saves  laundry  bills. 

3.  Summary  of  (i)  and  (2).  The  investment  required  is  not 
large.     Special  plans  for  payment. 

4.  Durability  of  the  machine. 

5.  Summary  of  the  above.  Present  figures  showing  that 
during  the  time  that  has  elapsed  since  (i)  was  received  the 
machine  might  have  been  paid  for  out  of  the  money  spent  for 
laundry  bills. 


PART   III  — BUSINESS   PRACTICE 
CHAPTER  XVI 

MANUFACTURE 

The  following  chapters  will  furnish  exercises  in  composi- 
tion, both  oral  and  written,  based  upon  the  various  phases 
of  business.  They  are  intended  to  show  the  application  of 
the  principles  underlying  manufacturing,  buying,  and  sell- 
ing. Of  course,  we  cannot  expect  to  go  into  great  detail  in 
any  one  of  the  divisions.  That  must  be  reserved  for  future 
study,  perhaps  reserved  until  the  time  that  you  enter  a 
particular  business.  We  must  remember  that  our  first 
consideration  is  the  study  of  English,  the  problem  of  clear- 
cut  expression.  Underlying  clear-cut  expression  is  clear-cut 
thinking.  It  cannot  be  repeated  too  often  that  without 
a  definite  thought  there  can  be  no  definite  wording  of  the 
thought.  To  say,  "I  know,  but  I  don't  know  how  to  tell 
it,''  shows  a  lazy  brain.  Learn  to  exercise  your  thinking 
powers  so  that  you  can  force  them  to  stay  upon  a  subject 
until  you  have  thought  it  out  carefully  and  can  express  it. 
All  of  the  oral  exercises  in  the  following  chapters  require 
careful  preparation.  This  does  not  mean  that  they  should  be 
written  out  before  the  recitation,  but  it  does  mean  that  they 
must  be  carefully  thought  out.  The  preparation  need  not  take 
a  particular  form.  The  main  thing  is  that  you  know  exactly 
the  points  that  you  wish  to  make  before  you  begin  to  speak. 
If  the  exercise  calls  for  a  paragraph,  have  clearly  in  mind  the 
plan  by  which  you  expect  to  expand  your  thought.  Perhaps 
you  expect  to  begin  with,  or  to  lead  up  to,  a  topic  sentence. 
Remember  that  this  may  be  done  in  several  ways.     Choose 


MANUFACTURE  271 

whichever  plan  seems  best.  If  the  exercise  does  not  call 
for  a  particular  form,  such  as  a  paragraph  or  a  debate,  you 
are  left  free  to  develop  your  thought  in  the  way  that  you 
think  fits  your  subject  best  and  to  the  length  which  you 
think  it  demands. 

There  are  many  different  kinds  of  businesses.  We  shall  not 
attempt  to  consider  any  except  the  most  common  and  fun- 
damental. Some,  like  farming  or  mining,  consist  in  bringing 
forth  certain  products  from  the  ground.  Such  products 
are  called  raw  materials,  of  which  an  example  is  wheat. 
Some  raw  materials  are  sold  and  used  unchanged,  but  most 
of  them  go  through  the  process  of  manufacture  in  order  to 
be  directly  usable.  The  miller  is  an  example  of  a  manufac- 
turer, because  from  wheat  he  makes  flour.  In  this  chapter 
we  shall  study  the  principles  underlying  manufacture. 

The  exercises  do  not  by  any  means  exhaust  the  subject. 
Each  one  is  to  be  considered  as  a  nucleus  about  which  others 
are  to  be  grouped.  If  you  live  in  a  manufacturing  district, 
other  subjects  will  easily  suggest  themselves.  If  you  have 
studied  Industrial  History  or  Commercial  Geography,  you 
probably  have  in  mind  a  number  of  topics  for  discussion. 
If  you  know  but  little  about  raw  materials,  read  some  of 
the  books  suggested  in  Exercise  257.  At  all  events  let  your 
work  be  definite.  Whatever  statements  you  make  be  able 
to  substantiate  by  an  illustration  of  something  that  you 
have  seen  or  heard  or  read. 

Exercise  250  —  Manufacture 

Almost  all  the  things  we  eat,  wear,  and  use  every  day  are 
manufactured  articles.  Each  one  of  them  requires  its  own 
particular  process  in  the  making,  involving  the  necessity 
in  most  cases  of  complex  and  expensive  machinery,  of  expert 
workmen,  and  of  still  more  expert  management.  Take,  for 
example,  the  shoes  we  wear,  in  the  manufacture  of  which 
an  amazing  number  of  complicated  machines  and  of  expert 


272  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

workmen  is  necessary.  According  to  the  United  States 
Department  of  Labor,  men's  rough  shoes  go  through  eighty- 
four  distinct  processes  performed  by  skilled  workmen  and 
automatic  machines.  No  less  amazing  is  the  amount  of 
work  turned  out  by  these  machines.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  the  McKay  machine,  which  attaches  the  soles  to  the 
uppers,  sews  up  in  about  one  hour  and  a  half  one  hundred 
pairs,  an  amount  which  it  would  take  ninety-eight  hours,  or 
about  eleven  whole  working  days,  to  sew  by  hand. 

Each  manufacturing  business  has  peculiarities,  machinery, 
methods,  and  even  a  language  of  its  own;  sometimes  men 
must  spend  years  in  the  study  of  the  technicalities  of  certain 
manufacturing  businesses  before  they  become  expert  in  them. 
It  is  evident  that  we  cannot  take  up  any  one  of  them  here 
except  in  so  far  as  the  principles  of  one  apply  to  all,  and 
these  can  be  set  down  only  very  briefly. 

The  first  essential  to  successful  manufacturing  is  correct 
buying.  In  fact,  in  some  businesses  this  is  so  essential  that 
the  buyer  gets  a  larger  salary  than  the  manager  himself. 
We  can  see  the  reason  for  this  when  we  consider  that  a 
good  buyer  must  understand  not  only  the  materials  that 
he  buys,  but  also  the  manufacturing  processes,  so  that, 
knowing  the  process  through  which  the  raw  materials  will 
go  in  his  particular  business,  he  will  buy  those  materials 
that  will  make  the  most  profitable  manufactured  articles. 

The  next  essential,  and  in  most  cases  the  most  important 
one  from  the  manufacturing  standpoint,  is  a  management 
capable  of  producing  the  best  product  at  the  least  cost.  The 
managers  decide  what  shall  be  produced  and  how;  they  hire 
the  workmen  and  decide  what  each  shall  do;  they  decide 
what  shall  be  done  by  hand  and  what  by  machinery;  and 
they  choose  the  machines.  Sometimes  they  go  even  so  far 
as  to  determine  exactly  the  method  in  which  each  task  shall 
be  done,  and  whenever  they  see  that  it  would  be  advantageous 
to  install  a  machine,  they  do  so.     Pursuing  this  policy,  a 


MANUFACTURE  273 

Chicago  yeast  concern  not  long  ago  put  in  three  machines 
for  wrapping  the  small  yeast  cakes,  eliminating  the  services 
of  140  girls  and  cutting  the  cost  of  wrapping  to  three-fifths 
of  what  it  had  been.  In  the  steel  business  the  early  success 
of  Andrew  Carnegie  and  the  famous  Bill  Jones  was  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  on  several  occasions  they  did  not  hesitate 
to  break  up  half  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  machinery  and 
replace  it  with  newer  and  more  efficient  kinds. 

The  third  essential  to  manufacturing  success  is  aggressive 
marketing  of  the  product.  From  the  standpoint  of  money 
success  this  is  probably  the  most  important  consideration; 
so  important  is  it,  in  fact,  that  it  will  be  more  fully  discussed 
in  the  chapter  following. 

Exercise  251  —  Manufactured  Articles 
Oral 

1.  Define  the  word  industry.     When  is  a  business  called  an 

industry?     (Consult  an  unabridged  dictionary.) 

2.  a.  Name  several  raw  materials. 

h.  Name  some  industries  whose  business  it  is  to  produce 
raw  materials. 

3.  Name  some  companies  or  industries  whose  business  it  is, 

or  whose  principal  function  it  is,  to  manufacture  from 
raw  materials. 

4.  Name  some  companies  or  groups  of  companies  that  make 

articles  more  useful  by  transporting  them  to  places  where 
they  are  needed. 

5.  Name  some  wholesale  houses.     In  what  does  their  busi- 

ness consist? 

6.  Name  several  kinds  of  retail  businesses.     In  what  does 

their  business  consist? 

7.  Name  some  companies  that  manufacture  only  one  article. 

8.  Name  some  companies  that  manufacture  more  than  one 

article,  but  all  of  the  same  class.     This  is  the  largest 
group. 

9.  Name  some  companies  that  manufacture  several  different 

kinds  of  articles. 


274  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

10.  Name  some  companies  which,  in  manufacturing  one  prod- 

uct, make  a  secondary  or  by-product. 

11.  Name  a  number  of  by-products  and  what  they  are  by- 

products of. 

Oral  or  Written 

In  each  of  the  following  emphasize  the  labor  involved, 
not  the  machinery  used;   prepare  outlines: 

1.  Select  any  manufactured  article  that  you  have  seen  on  a 
grocer's  shelves,  and  trace  it  through  (2),  (3),  (4),  (5),  and  (6) 
above,  from  the  raw  material  until  the  product  is  in  the  house- 
keeper's hands.  If  possible  make  your  information  exact  by 
visiting  a  factory  in  which  the  article  is  made.  The  information 
contained  in  advertisements  of  well-known  articles  may  help 
you. 

2.  Trace  the  labor  that  is  necessary  to  put  a  loaf  of  bread  on 
the  table. 

3.  Trace  the  changes  that  the  mineral  undergoes  to  be  suitable 
for  the  making  of  edged  tools,  such  as  knives  or  axes. 

4.  Trace  the  changes  that  cotton  must  undergo  before  it  is 
suitable  for  wearing  as  a  dress  or  a  pair  of  stockings. 

5.  Trace  the  changes  that  wool  undergoes  before  it  can  be  worn 
as  a  sweater  or  a  winter  coat. 

6.  Trace  the  changes  that  the  skins  of  animals  undergo  before 
they  can  be  worn  as  a  mufif. 

7.  Trace  the  changes  that  silk  undergoes  before  it  can  be  worn 
as  a  neck-tie. 

8.  Trace  the  changes  that  hemp  undergoes  before  it  can  be 
used  as  a  rope. 

9.  Trace  the  changes  that  hides  undergo  before  they  can  be 
worn  as  shoes. 

10.  Trace  wood  from  the  tree  to  a  piece  of  fine  furniture  or  to 
the  case  of  a  musical  instrument. 

11.  Trace  the  steps  in  the  process  of  making  maple  sugar. 

12.  Trace  the  steps  in  making  a  piece  of  glazed  pottery. 

13.  Trace  clay  to  bricks. 

14.  Trace  flax  to  a  table-cloth. 

15.  Trace  the  steps  necessary  to  make  a  five  dollar  gold  piece. 


MANUFACTURE  275 

Exercise  252 

Subjects  for  Themes,  Oral  or  Written 

The  following  are  suggestions  for  theme  subjects  on  manu- 
facture.     Develop  one  or  more  as  the  teacher  directs. 

1.  Household  uses  for  asbestos. 

2.  Making  turpentine  from  wood. 

3.  A  convenient  electrical  device. 

4.  The  advantages  of  the  fireless  cooker. 

5.  The  advantages  of  concrete  as  a  building  material. 

6.  The  way  to  make  a  plaster  cast. 

7.  How  iron  castings  are  made. 

8.  Artificial  flowers  from  feathers,  paper,  or  cloth. 

9.  How  a  suction  sweeper  works. 

10.  The  safety  match. 

11.  The  uses  of  wood  pulp. 

12.  Patent  roofing. 

13.  The  manufacture  of  plate  glass. 

14.  Utilizing  cotton  seed. 

15.  The  advantages  and  the  disadvantages  of  using  baking 
powder. 

Exercise  253 

Suggestions  for  Debates 

1.  The  average  young  man  has  a  better  chance  to  succeed  in 
business  than  in  a  profession. 

2.  A  manufacturing  business  offers  a  better  opportunity  for 
a  young  man  at  the  present  time  than  a  mercantile  business. 

3.  Manufacturing  industries  would  suffer  if  immigration  were 
restricted. 

4.  The  labor  union  should  be  abolished. 

5.  The  labor  union  has  no  right  to  restrict  the  number  of 
apprentices. 

6.  The  profit-sharing  plan  produces  greater  efficiency  in  the 
working-force. 

Exercise  254 

Imagine  that  you  are  Stanley  M.  Benner,  171  South  St., 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  proprietor  of  a  factory  making  men's  shirts 
and  collars. 


276  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

1.  Write  an  order  to  The  American  Printing  Mill,  1038  Canal 
St.,  Passaic,  N.  J.,  for  several  bolts  each  of  percale,  madras,  corded 
madras,  and  silk  striped  madras.     Use  catalogue  numbers. 

2.  Write  another  order  to  The  Trescott  Silk  Mill,  976  River 
St.,  Paterson,  N.  J.,  for  several  bolts  each  of  No.  62,  No.  14,  ' 
and   No.    20   shirtiiig   silks.    No.    62   being  a  striped  silk  and 
the  others  figured.    Be  definite  in  ordering  the  colors  that  you 
wish. 

3.  You  have  received  an  order  from  Spencer  &  Mitchell,  1925 
Pearl  St.,  Albany,  N.  Y.  Write  a  letter,  thanking  them  for  the 
order  and  explaining  when  and  how  the  goods  will  be  sent. 

4.  You  have  received  an  order  from  William  F.  Atwood,  590 
Jackson  St.,  Wilmington,  Del.,  for  a  certain  style  of  collar  on 
which  there  has  been  a  run.  Write  a  letter,  explaining  that  it  will 
take  about  three  weeks  to  fill  the  orders  that  you  now  have  for 
this  collar  and  that  you  therefore  cannot  send  Mr.  Atwood's 
goods  before  the  end  of  the  month. 

5.  The  goods  have  arrived  from  The  Trescott  Silk  Mill.  You 
find,  however,  that  two  bolts  of  No.  14  are  badly  soiled.  Write 
a  letter,  saying  that  you  are  returning  the  bolts  and  asking  to  have 
the  matter  adjusted. 

6.  A.  W.  Trescott,  President  of  The  Trescott  Silk  Mill, 
replies,  expressing  regret  that  the  goods  were  soiled  and  saying 
that  two  clean  bolts  of  No.  14  are  being  sent  at  once.  Write  his 
letter. 

7.  You  have  on  hand  about  50  gross  men's  striped  madras 
collars,  for  which  there  is  no  longer  a  call.  Write  to  Markham 
Bros.,  wholesale  jobbers,  1765  Greenwich  St.,  New  York  City, 
asking  what  price  they  will  offer  for  the  lot. 

8.  Answer  the  letter,  offering  $1.50  a  gross  for  the  collars. 

9.  Accept  the  offer. 

10.  Owing  to  the  mildness  of  the  winter,  you  fear  that  you 
will  not  sell  your  stock  of  men's  flannel  shirts.  Write  a  circular 
letter,  offering  the  shirts  in  lots  of  25  dozen  each,  assorted  sizes 
and  colors,  at  a  35%  reduction  in  price.  Address  one  letter  to 
Frederick  H.  Howard,  a  dealer  at  775  Cedar  St.,  Harrisburg,  Pa. 

11.  A  teamsters'  strike  has  delayed  your  shipments.  You 
have  received  so  many  complaints  of  the  non-arrival  of  goods 
that  you  decide  to  prepare  a  form  letter  that  will  answer  all  the 
complaints.  Address  one  letter  to  William  A.  Spaulding,  2937 
Waterman  St.,  Providence,  R.  I. 


MANUFACTURE  277 

12.  Miss  Sarah  MacComb  has  a  small  dry  goods  store  in 
Norwich,  Conn.  She  has  owed  you  $125  for  six  months.  You 
have  been  lenient  with  Miss  MacComb  because  you  know  that 
she  has  had  difficulty  in  meeting  her  bills.  However,  you  feel 
that  she  should  pay  at  least  a  part  of  her  indebtedness  to  you. 
Write  a  courteous  letter,  longer  and  more  persuasive  than  if  it 
were  to  go  to  a  man,  demanding  payment  but  retaining  the  cus- 
tomer's good  will.  This  is  a  difficult  letter  to  write.  Prepare  it 
carefully. 

Exercise  255 

1.  You  have  been  manager  of  the  Forsyth  Furniture  Co., 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.  You  have  financial  backing  for  $25,000 
and  are  looking  for  a  location  for  a  factory  of  your  own.  Write 
the  same  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of 
Great  Falls,  Mont.;  Memphis,  Tenn.;  Houston,  Texas;  Indian- 
apolis, Ind.  Ask  the  Secretary  to  tell  you  the  prospects  for  such 
a  factory  in  his  city,  and  what  inducements  the  city  will  offer  you. 
(By  writing  to  different  cities,  the  teacher  can  obtain  their  booklets 
and  their  special  offers  to  manufacturers.) 

2.  Investigate  the  conditions  in  one  of  the  cities  mentioned 
above  and  reproduce  the  letter  that  the  Secretary  wrote. 

3.  Of  the  four  cities.  Great  Falls  appeals  to  you  as  the  best 
location  for  your  factory.  Write  again,  asking  the  Secretary 
especially  about  the  water  power  facilities  offered  and  the  rates 
charged  for  electrical  power. 

4.  He  replies  that  Great  Falls  has  the  most  extensive  power 
in  the  United  States,  the  hydro-electric  power  being  ready  for 
aelivery  in  any  quantity  at  exceptionally  low  rates.  He  tells  of 
the  many  factories  that  are  already  located  in  Great  Falls 
because  of  its  water  power  facilities. 

5.  Great  Falls  is  your  choice.  After  your  factory  is  built 
and  your  machinery  installed,  write  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Sand 
Point  Lumber  Co.,  Sand  Point,  Idaho,  asking  him  to  submit 
figures  for  a  contract  for  supplying  all  your  fir  lumber.  Tell 
him  you  think  you  will  use  about  a  million  board  feet  a  year. 

6.  The  Secretary  replies,  offering  you  a  contract  on  the  follow- 
ing terms:  For  all  amounts  under. 2 50,000  feet  a  year,  a  rate  of  12 
cents  a  foot;  under  500,000,  11  cents;  over  500,000,  10  cents. 
All  goods  are  to  be  billed  at  the  highest  rate  and  rebates  made 
at  the  end  of  the  year,  terms  of  payment  being  90  days,  5%  for 
30  days. 


278  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

7.  Write  to  the  Central  American  Supply  Co.,  Tehuantepec, 
Mexico,  ordering  50,000  feet  No.  i  Mahogany  Veneer.  Have  it 
charged  to  your  account,  which  you  have  previously  opened. 

8.  Write  to  Gregory  Bros.,  wholesale  dry  goods  merchants, 
1 2 141  Nicollet  Ave.,  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  ordering  15  bolts  No. 
7  Green  Denim;  10  bolts  No.  09  Green  Panne  Velvet;  50  yds. 
No.  216  Tapestry;  50  yds.  No.  16  Tapestry;  100  bolts  Green  and 
100  bolts  Brown  No.  5  Guimpe.  Instruct  them  to  ship  the  goods 
at  once  and  draw  on  you  at  sight  through  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Great  Falls.    (See  page  344.) 

9.  Write  to  the  Excelsior  Varnish  Co.,  Merchants'  National 
Bank  Building,  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  ordering  articles  such  as  varnish, 
stains,  oils,  enamels,  and  finishing  wax. 

10.  Write  an  order  to  a  St.  Louis  firm  for  leather. 

11.  Write  an  order  to  a  Spokane  firm  for  springs. 

12.  Find  out  where  a  Great  Falls  merchant  would  buy  oak  and 
birch,  and  write  an  order  for  each. 

13.  Write  to  the  Hanover  National  Bank  of  New  York  City 
(because  you  happen  to  know  the  cashier  of  that  bank),  explain- 
ing that  you  are  having  a  very  decided  increase  in  your  business 
and  that,  in  order  to  take  care  of  the  demand,  you  require  a  loan 
of  $10,000.  Explain  further  that  the  rates  are  too  high  in  Great 
Falls  for  you  to  take  a  loan  there.  Say  that  you  are  enclosing 
a  statement  of  your  assets  and  liabilities. 

14.  A  dealer  in  Portland,  Ore.,  writes,  complaining  that  he  has 
not  yet  received  the  goods  that  he  ordered  ten  days  ago.  Write 
the  letter. 

15.  Reply  that  shipment  has  been  delayed  because  of  a  strike 
that  has  temporarily  closed  your  factory.  The  trouble  is  now 
settled,  and  the  goods  will  probably  be  forwarded  within  three 
days. 

Exercise  256 
Topics  for  Investigation  and  Discussion 

Principles  involved  in  manufacture: 
I.  The  location  of  a  factory-. 

a.  Where  necessary  raw  materials  can  be  obtained  easily  and 
cheaply. 

b.  Where  land  is  not  expensive. 


MANUFACTURE  279 

c.  Where  the  coal  or  water  supply  will  make  power  in- 
expensive. 

d.  Where  transportation  facilities  are  good. 

2.  The  advantages  of  using  machinery  in  manufacture. 
a.   Relative  amount  of  work  turned  out. 

h.    Relative  cost  of  work  turned  out. 

c.  Relative  cleanliness  of  work  turned  out. 

d.  Relative  uniformity  of  work  turned  out. 

3.  The  number  of  working  hours. 

Some  factories  have  made  the  experiment  of  reducing  the 
number  of  working  hours  from  ten  to  eight  without  reducing  the 
wages  of  the  workers.  They  have  found  that  the  quantity  of 
work  turned  out  is  increased  and  the  quality  improved.  Can 
you  explain  why? 

4.  The  advantages  of  the  profit-sharing  plan,   both  for 
employer  and  for  employee. 

This  is  a  plan  by  which  a  certain  per  cent  of  the  profits  of  the 
business  is  divided  annually  among  the  employees.  (See  a  very 
interesting  article  in  System  for  March,  191 1,  or  read  Profit  -sharing 
between  Employer  and  Employee  by  N.  P.  Oilman.) 

5.  Specialized  labor. 

There  was  a  time  when  a  man  made  all  the  parts  of  a  pair  of 
shoes.  Why  in  modern  factories  does  he  make  only  one  part? 
Which  system  tends  to  make  shoes  of  uniform  workmanship?  Is 
uniformity  a  good  quality  in  manufacture?  This  principle  applies 
to  any  kind  of  factory. 

6.  Special  products. 

Suppose  that  you  manufactured  a  large  number  of  styles  of 
millinery,  or  novelty,  footwear.  Would  you  expect  your  profits 
on  these  to  be  larger  or  smaller  than  on  your  staple  styles?  Give 
reasons  and  illustrations. 

7.  Why  is  there  a  struggle  between  labor  and  capital? 

8.  What  is  the  cause  of  strikes? 

9.  Are  strikes  a  good  thing  for  manufacture? 

10.  A  visit  to  a  shoe  factory  (or  any  other  factory). 


28o  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

Exercise  257 
Books  that  will  Suggest  Topics  for  Talks 

If  you  have  access  to  a  public  library,  you  can  probably 
obtain  some  of  the  following  books.  They  are  all  simple 
and  interesting,  and  any  of  them  will  suggest  several  topics 
for  talks. 

Allen,  N.  B.,  Industrial  Studies. 

Baker,  R.  S.,  Boys'  Books  of  Inventions. 

Barnard,  Charles,  Tools  and  Machines. 

Carpenter,  F.  G.,  How  the  World  is  Fed;  How  the  World  is  Clothed; 

How  the  World  is  Housed;   Geographical  Readers. 
Chamberlain,  J.  F.,  How  We  are  Fed;  How  We  are  Clothed. 
Chase,  A.  and  Clow,  E.,  Stories  of  Industries  (two  volumes). 
Cochrane,  C.  H.,  The  Wonders  of  Modern  Mechanism. 
Cochrane,  Robert,  Romance  of  Industry  and  Invention. 
Doubled  AY,  Russell,  Stories  of  Invention. 
FoRMAN,  S.  E.,  Useful  Inventions. 
Gibson,  C.  R.,  The  Romance  of  Modem  Manufacture. 
Lane,  M.  A.  L.,  Industries  of  To-day. 
Little  Chronicle  Co.,  Industries  of  a  Great  City. 
MowRY,  W.  A.  and  Mowry,  A.  M.,  Inventions  and  Inventors. 
Parton,  J.,  Captains  of  Industry  (two  series). 
RocHELEAU,  W.  F.,  Products  of  the  Soil;  Minerals;  Manufactures. 
TowLE,  G.  M.,  Heroes  and  Martyrs  of  Invention. 
Williams,  A.,  How  it  is  Made. 

Exercise  258 
Study  the  punctuation  of  the  following;  then  write  from 
dictation: 

I 

It  is  stated  that  practical  experience  with  gas  mantles  made  of 
artificial  silk  —  that  is,  silk  made  from  wood  pulp  —  has  proved 
them  to  be  far  superior  to  those  made  of  cotton,  especially  where 
the  mantles  are  exposed  to  excessive  vibration.  Several  German 
towns  are  said  to  be  obtaining  exceptionally  good  results  from 
these  new  mantles  used  in  conjunction  with  pressure  gas,  and  it 
is  asserted  that  the  mantles  are  in  good  condition  after  being 
used  for  seven  or  eight  weeks.  Artificial  silk,  according  to  re- 
ports, has  also  been  used  experimentally  by  several  manufacturers 


MANUFACTURE  281 

of  incandescent  gas  mantles  in  the  United  Kingdom.  The  reports 
are  all  very  encouraging,  except  that  there  seems  to  be  one  diffi- 
culty that  is  purely  mechanical  —  the  knitting  of  the  artificial 
silk.  The  knots  and  other  imperfections  in  the  yarn  cause  a 
considerable  amount  of  waste.  However,  the  knitting-machine 
makers  are  experimenting  to  overcome  it.  —  Daily  Consular  and 
Trade  Report. 

2 

As  the  production  of  wool  in  this  country,  although  approxi- 
mating 320,000,000  pounds  a  year,  does  not  begin  to  meet  the 
demands  for  the  raw  material,  there  is  a  yearly  importation  of 
from  156,000,000  to  over  300,000,000  pounds.  When  each  new 
census  reveals  the  fact  that  there  are  fewer  sheep  of  shearing  age 
in  the  country  than  there  were  ten  years  before,  the  question 
of  wool  production  becomes  one  of  still  greater  importance.  A 
solution  may  be  found  in  a  Peruvian  product.  A  variety  of  cotton 
grows  in  Peru  whose  long,  rough,  crinkly  fiber  mixes  so  readily 
with  wool  that  manufacturers  use  it  in  connection  with  wool  in 
manufacturing  '^all  wool"  goods.  It  grows  on  a  small  tree  that 
yields  two  or  three  crops  a  year  for  seven  or  eight  years.  The 
area,  however,  in  which  it  is  being  successfully  cultivated  in  Peru 
is  so  limited  that  the  annual  output  is  only  about  16,000,000 
pounds,  of  which  the  United  States  takes  approximately  5,500,000 
pounds.  As  the  region  in  which  it  thrives  is  practically  rainless, 
perhaps  a  way  may  be  found  to  persuade  the  rough  Peruvian  to 
make  a  home  for  itself  in  the  hot  and  arid  regions  of  our  Southwest. 
It  would  be  a  triumph  of  agriculture,  certainly,  to  raise  vegetable 
wool  in  regions  not  fitted  for  real  sheep.  —  The  Wall  Street  Journal, 

3 
The  Casting  of  Metals 

As  is  well  known,  some  metals  are  unsuitable  for  casting,  while 
others,  like  iron,  can  readily  be  cast  into  any  desired  shape.  The 
property  of  casting  well,  it  is  said,  depends  upon  whether  the  metal 
contracts  or  expands  in  solidifying  from  the  liquid  form.  Iron, 
like  water,  expands  in  solidifying,  and  hence  the  solid  metal  may 
be  seen  floating  in  the  liquid  iron  about  it.  The  expansion  causes 
it  to  fill  the  die  into  which  it  is  poured,  and  so  it  can  be  cast  easily. 
Gold  and  silver  contract  in  cooling,  and  are,  therefore,  not  suitable 
for  casting.  —  Harper^ s  Weekly. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
DISTRIBUTION 

Correct  buying  and  the  most  efficient  methods  of  manu- 
facture play  a  large  part  in  the  successful  carrying  on  of  a 
business,  but  the  most  important  consideration  is  the  success- 
ful marketing  or  distributing  of  the  product  after  it  has  been 
manufactured  or  bought.  Very  few  products  are  so  superior 
in  quality  that  they  sell  themselves  purely  on  merit.  Com- 
petition in  business  to-day  is  so  keen  that,  in  order  to  find 
a  market  for  his  product,  a  merchant  must  create  a  demand 
for  it.  Thus  at  its  very  foundation,  distribution  is  merely 
a  process  of  creating  a  demand  and  then  filling  that  demand. 
For  instance,  the  retail  merchant  is  concerned  with  bringing 
the  customers  to  his  store  rather  than  to  his  competitor's 
across  the  street.  The  wholesale  merchant  is  concerned  with 
having  the  retailers  handle  his  goods  rather  than  those  of 
another  firm.  The  mail  order  merchant  is  concerned  with 
getting  the  farmer's  business  before  some  other  dealer  gets 
it.  The  salesman  is  concerned  with  writing  the  order  before 
a  rival  from  another  house  writes  it. 

In  the  first  place,  the  merchant  must  handle  those  things 
that  his  customers  consider  necessary  or  desirable.  Over- 
coats cannot  be  sold  in  August,  ashsifters  on  the  equator, 
nor  electric  fans  in  Iceland.  Different  peoples,  different 
times,  and  different  conditions  create  different  demands, 
and  it  is  the  merchant's  business  to  study  those  demands 
and  to  fill  them.  In  the  second  place,  he  must  leave  no  stone 
unturned  in  endeavoring  to  make  his  product  more  desir- 
able than  that  of  his  competitors.  This  may  mean  extensive 
advertising  campaigns,  expensive  displays,  outlay  for  costly 


DISTRIBUTION  283 

catalogues  and  booklets,  the  expenditure  of  money  for 
inducements  to  bring  customers,  or  the  hiring  of  expert 
salesmen.  In  fact,  thousands  of  plans  are  carried  out  every 
year  in  this  endeavor  to  increase  trade. 

The  getting  of  new  and  additional  business,  however,  is 
only  one  of  the  important  considerations  that  the  merchant 
must  always  have  in  mind.  He  must  also  keep  what  busi- 
ness he  already  has  by  maintaining  the  standard  of  his  goods 
and  by  giving  his  customers  satisfactory  service.  One  of 
the  first  essentials  in  this  question  of  service  is  promptness 
and  exactness  of  delivery.  In  this  the  merchant  must  depend 
very  largely  on  the  transportation  companies,  and  there- 
fore a  brief  study  of  these  facilities  will  be  especially  in 
place  at  this  point. 

Transportation 

Transportation  is  an  essential  item  in  the  problem  of  dis- 
tribution. If  you  wished  to  drink  a  cup  of  coffee  and  found 
that  none  could  be  had  except  in  Brazil,  you  would  begin  to 
realize  how  much  the  steamship  company  and  the  railroad 
company  have  done  in  transporting  and  hauling  it  where 
you  might  buy  it.  The  same  is  true  of  our  oranges  from 
California  and  Florida,  our  apples  from  Washington  and 
Oregon,  and  our  grain  from  the  Middle  States.  In  fact, 
in  the  case  of  many  products  the  most  important  item  is 
not  growing  them,  but  bringing  them  to  market,  since  the 
transportation  charges  are  often  much  greater  than  the  actual 
cost  of  producing.  Thousands  of  barrels  of  apples  rot  on  the 
ground  every  year  because  their  quality  does  not  warrant 
the  high  transportation  charges,  the  lack  of  transportation 
rendering  them  useless.  In  a  smaller  measure,  the  delivery 
wagons  in  our  cities  and  towns  are  essential  to  us  because 
they  save  us  the  trouble  of  carrying  our  purchases  about. 
Thus,  the  element  of  transportation  enters  into  our  lives 
every  day,  saving  us  inconvenience,  bringing  to  us  neces- 


284  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

sities  that  we  demand  and  luxuries  that  we  like,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  increasing  the  price  of  commodities. 

Common  carriers,  as  transportation  companies  are  called, 
are  of  two  general  classes: 

1.  Those  operating  on  water  —  the  steamship  companies. 

2.  Those  operating  on  land  —  the  railroad  companies. 

The  Steamship  Company 

Steamship  companies  operate  three  general  kinds  of  lines: 
(i)  lines  consisting  of  the  largest  and  fastest  steamers  which 
carry  only  passengers,  mail,  and  valuable  parcels;  (2)  lines 
using  slower  steamers  which  carry  both  passengers  and  freight; 
'  and  (3)  lines  employing  vessels  —  steamers,  sailing  vessels, 
and  barges  —  which  carry  only  freight.  The  cost  of  hauling 
cargoes  by  water  is  in  every  case  less  per  mile  than  that  of 
carrying  the  same  quantity  of  goods  on  land.  It  costs,  for 
example,  over  four  times  as  much  to  carry  a  bushel  of  wheat 
from  Chicago  to  New  York  by  rail  as  it  does  to  carry  it  across 
the  Atlantic.  It  is  for  this  very  reason  that  the  traffic  on 
our  navigable  rivers,  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  and  on 
the  Great  Lakes  is  so  heavy.  Whenever  a  cargo  can  be 
shipped  as  well  by  water  as  by  rail  and  there  is  no  hurry  for 
delivery,  it  is  shipped  by  water.  However,  because  so  much 
of  our  freight  must  be  rushed  from  place  to  place,  the  rail- 
roads get  the  bulk  of  the  inland  traffic. 

The  Railroad  Company 

The  services  of  the  railroad  company  embrace  the  hauling 
of  freight,  the  carrying  of  passengers,  and  the  transporting  of 
express  and  of  mail.  The  hauling  of  freight  is  the  most 
important  item  in  the  railroad  business,  about  three-quarters 
of  the  total  income  being  derived  from  this  source.  Each 
year  over  one  billion  tons  of  freight  are  turned  over  by 
shippers  to  the  railroads,  who  use  almost  two  and  one-half 


DISTRIBUTION  285 

million  freight  cars  to  carry  it.  About  one-half  of  this  ton- 
nage is  minerals,  mainly  ore  and  coal;  about  one-seventh 
consists  of  manufactured  articles;  and  one- twelfth  of  agri- 
cultural products.  Commodities  are  grouped  into  from  ten 
to  fourteen  classes,  on  each  one  of  which  the  freight  rate  is 
different  from  that  of  the  others.  By  freight  rate  is  meant 
the  cost  of  shipping  a  certain  unit,  usually  100  pounds 
or  a  ton,  from  one  place  to  another;  it  is  dependent 
on  the  distance.  There  are  certain  bulky  commodities  like 
coal,  livestock,  lumber,  grain,  and  cement,  which  are  almost 
always  handled  in  carload  lots.  They  are  not  included  in 
the  freight  classification,  but  have  a  special  ex-class  freight 
rate.  Freight  rates  depend  also  on  whether  the  goods  are 
shipped  by  slow  or  local  freight  or  by  fast  or  through  freight. 
There  are  a  hundred  different  kinds  of  papers  used  in 
carrying  on  the  railroad  freight  business.  Only  four  of  the 
most  important  will  be  considered  here.  When  a  shipper 
turns  over  his  goods  to  the  railroad  company  at  its  freight 
depot,  he  gets  from  the  agent  a  receipt  for  freight,  which  is 
merely  a  receipt  for  the  goods  he  has  turned  over.  In  the 
ordinary  course  of  business  these  receipts  are  exchanged  at 
the  company's  office  for  a  hill  of  lading  in  triplicate.  The 
original  and  one  copy  are  given  to  the  shipper.  The  second 
copy  is  kept  by  the  railroad.  This  bill  of  lading  may  be 
of  two  kinds,  straight  or  order.  If  a  straight  bill  of  lading 
is  given,  the  original  is  sent  to  the  person  to  whom  the  goods 
are  shipped,  who  is  called  the  consignee,  who  on  the  presen- 
tation of  the  bill  of  lading  is  entitled  to  the  goods  after 
paying  the  charges.  An  order  bill  of  lading  is  much  like 
a  check,  in  that  it  can  be  assigned  to  another  person.  Like 
the  straight  bill  it  states  the  name  of  the  consignee  or 
the  person  for  whom  the  goods  are.  intended  and  his 
address,  but  the '  consignee  cannot  get  possession  of  the 
goods  until  he  has  paid  for  them.  To  collect  payment, 
the  shipper  attaches  to  the  order  bill  of  lading  a  draft  for 


286  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

the  amount  of  the  goods  and  the  freight,  and  through  his 
bank  and  the  bank  of  the  consignee  the  amount  is  collected. 
The  consignee  then  gets  possession  of  the  order  bill  of  lad- 
ing, which  entitles  him  to  possession  of  the  goods.  This  is 
more  fully  explained  on  page  344.  The  railroad's  most 
important  paper  is  the  way  billj  which  shows  the  conductor 
or  the  agent  of  the  company  just  what  articles  are  included 
in  the  shipment,  so  that  it  can  be  checked  when  unloaded. 
When  the  goods  arrive  at  their  destination,  the  consignee 
is  notified  and  is  sent  a  freight  hill  showing  the  freight 
charges.  When  he  presents  his  bill  of  lading  and  pays  the 
charges,  the  freight  bill  is  receipted  and  the  goods  are  his. 

In  quoting  prices  on  goods,  manufacturers  and  distribu- 
tors usually  designate  whether  they  will  pay  the  freight  or 
whether  it  is  to  be  paid  by  the  consignee.  In  the  latter  case 
the  price  is  quoted  f.  o.  b.  at  the  place  from  which  the  goods 
are  shipped,  which  means  freight  on  board  at  that  point. 
That  is  to  say,  if  a  distributor  located  at  Detroit  quotes  his 
automobiles  f.  o.  b.  Detroit,  he  means  that  he  will  see  that 
the  goods  get  into  the  railroad  company's  hands  at  Detroit, 
but  that  the  consignee  pays  the  freight  from  Detroit  to  the 
destination.     The  latter  is  the  common  practice  in  shipping. 

In  the  following  exercises  we  shall  treat  the  subject  of 
distribution  under  four  heads: 

I.  The  Retail  Merchant. 

II.  The  Wholesale  Merchant. 

III.  The  Mail  Order  Merchant. 

IV.  The  Salesman. 

I.  —  The  Retail  Merchant 
Exercise  259 

Oral 

You  are  opening  a  grocery  store.  Remember  that  your 
object  is  to  sell  the  largest  possible  amount  of  goods. 
Develop  each  of  the  following  suggestions: 


DISTRIBUTION  287 

1.  What  kind  of  location  would  you  desire? 

2.  How  would  you  have  the  front  of  your  store  painted? 
Would  you  try  to  make  it  stand  out  from  the  rest? 

3.  Do  you  think  it  would  pay  you  to  have  the  interior  newly 
and  brightly  redecorated?  To  put  in  the  best  and  brightest 
lights? 

4.  What  quality  of  stock  would  you  select?  The  same  for 
all  neighborhoods?  Give  your  reasons.  Would  advertised 
brands  bring  you  more  trade? 

5.  Do  you  think  window  display  would  pay?  Would  you 
recommend  freak  or  ordinary  displays?  Price-marked  or  non- 
price-marked?     Give  your  reasons. 

6.  Does  the  delivery  wagon  pay?  Would  it  be  advisable  to 
buy  a  new  wagon  and  a  good  horse?  What  other  considerations 
would  enter? 

7.  Would  you  sometimes  cut  the  price  of  some  necessity  to 
draw  people?     Give  reasons  for  your  answer. 

8.  Is  it  a  good  thing  to  have  a  general  cut-price-sale  to  bring 
customers  to  your  store?     Even  if  you  lose  money  by  it? 

9.  Would  you  give  credit?  Would  the  class  of  people  you 
served  come  into  consideration? 

10.  Is  the  use  of  trading  stamps  and  premiums  good  policy? 

11.  Why  do  you  often  find  a  meat  market  in  connection  with 
a  grocery? 

12.  There  are  two  kinds  of  retail  meat  markets:  (i)  the  one 
that  sells  goods  which  can  be  retailed  at  a  low  price,  and  (2)  the 
one  that  sells  superior  goods  at  a  higher  price.  Which  policy 
would  you  follow  and  why? 

13.  Could  a  retailer  combine  the  two  spoken  of  in  (12)?  Con- 
sider cost,  space,  satisfaction  of  the  customer. 

14.  Would  you  advertise  by  means  of  handbills?  By  circular 
letters? 

15.  What  would  you  do  if  another  grocery  opened  across  the 
street  from  yours? 

Exercise  260 

Written 

I.  You  have  bought  Burton  &  Sanders'  grocery  at  Fort  Wayne, 
Indiana.  Send  out  a  circular  letter  advertising  the  new  White 
Front  Grocery  and  telling  what  the  policy  of  the  new  manage- 
ment will  be.     Explain  that  the  opening  sale  will  begin  next  Mon- 


288  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

day  and  that  a  special  feature  of  the  sale  will  be  twenty  pounds 
of  granulated  sugar  for  eighty  cents  with  a  two  dollar  order. 

2.  At  the  same  time  have  an  article  appear  in  a  local  news- 
paper, telling  that  Burton  &  Sanders  have  sold  their  store  to 
you  and  that  you  are  making  extensive  improvements,  especially 
in  sanitary  means  of  handling  provisions.  In  addition,  let  the 
article  give  an  account  of  your  business  career  in  another  town. 
Would  such  an  article  be  of  value  to  you?    Write  it. 

3.  Write  to  Peabody,  Harper  &  Co.,  Rush  Street  Bridge, 
Chicago,  111.,  saying  that  you  would  like  to  open  an  account  with 
them.  Give  as  references  a  bank  in  your  town  and  one  in 
Logansport,  where  you  used  to  live.  Ask  Peabody,  Harper  &  Co. 
what  terms  they  can  offer  you. 

4.  You  have  decided  to  advertise  in  a  local  paper.  Write 
to  the  advertising  manager,  asking  him  for  yearly  rates  for  a  half- 
column  every  evening  and  a  quarter-page  every  Friday. 

5.  Find  out  what  are  the  advertising  rates  of  a  paper  in  your 
town  and  answer  (4). 

6.  Reproduce  a  letter  that  a  woman  living  in  town  sends, 
ordering  two  dollars  worth  of  groceries  and  requesting  that  you 
send,  in  addition,  the  twenty  pounds  of  sugar  you  advertise  in 
(i).     She  encloses  a  check  for  $2.80. 

7.  You  are  in  receipt  of  a  letter  from  Peabody,  Harper  &  Co., 
answering  your  inquiry  in  (3)  and  offering  you  sixty  days'  credit 
and  2%  discount  for  payment  within  ten  days.     Write  the  letter. 

8.  Send  an  order  to  Peabody,  Harper  &  Co.  for  $200  worth 
of  groceries.  Among  the  items  let  there  be  6  cases  of  canned 
tomatoes,  first  quality,  at  $1.75  a  case.  Ask  them  to  send  the 
goods  by  the  Pennsylvania  R.  R. 

9.  You  find  that  your  business  is  increasing  and  you  need 
another  clerk.    Write  an  advertisement  for  one. 

10.  Write  a  letter  answering  the  advertisement,  telling  why 
you  would  be  a  good  clerk,  although  you  have  had  no  experi- 
ence. 

11.  Peabody,  Harper  &  Co.  write,  confirming  your  order  in 
(8)  and  enclosing  a  straight  bill  of  lading. 

12.  When  the  goods  arrive,  you  find  no  tomatoes  among  them. 
Write  a  complaint  to  the  wholesale  house. 

13.  Peabody,  Harper  &  Co.  reply  to  your  letter  in  (12),  apolo- 
gizing for  the  mistake,  explaining  how  it  occurred  (supply  an 
explanation),  and  telling  you  that  they  have  sent  one  case  by 
express  at  their  expense.    The  rest  will  follow  by  freight. 


DISTRIBUTION  289 

14.  The  tomatoes  sent  by  freight  do  not  arrive.  Write  to  the 
grocery  company,  asking  the  latter  to  send  out  a  "tracer  ";  that 
is,  to  request  the  railroad  company  to  trace  the  goods  on  its  lines. 

15.  The  grocery  company  telephones  the  railroad  company, 
requesting  the  latter  to  trace  the  goods  and  to  report.  The 
grocery  company  also  writes  a  letter  confirming  its  request.  Write 
the  letter. 

16.  (a)  The  railroad  company  reports  that  by  mistake  the  goods 
were  carried  through  to  Lima,  but  that  they  are  being  returned 
to  Fort  Wayne,  (b)  The  grocery  company  informs  you  of  the 
developments  and  hopes  that  the  delay  has  caused  you  no  great 
inconvenience.    Write  both  letters. 

Exercise  261 

1.  You  wish  to  get  a  partner  to  open  a  meat  market  in  con- 
nection with  your  grocery.  Write  to  a  friend  in  Lafayette,  Ind., 
who  you  think  will  be  interested,  proposing  it  to  him.  Tell  him 
of  the  opportunities,  as  you  see  them,  of  business  in  Fort  Wayne 
and  the  surrounding  country.  Tell  him  that  with  $4,000  addi- 
tional capital  you  and  he  could  set  up  a  much  larger  establish- 
ment, invest  in  a  motor  wagon,  and  thus  secure  the  trade  of  the 
outlying  districts. 

2.  Your  friend  replies  that  the  proposal  appeals  strongly  to 
him,  but  that  he  has  only  $2,000  in  cash.     However,  he  holds  a 

mortgage  for  $2,000  on (state  the  location  of  the  house)  in 

Lafayette,  and,  if  he  can  sell  the  mortgage,  he  will  be  glad  to 
avail  himself  of  the  offer. 

3.  After  the  partnership  is  formed,  your  partner  writes  to  Orr 
&  Locket,  14  W.  Randolph  St.,  Chicago,  111.,  ordering  the  follow- 
ing to  be  shipped  by  Pennsylvania  R.R.:  i  Refrigerator  No.  361; 
2  Meat  Blocks  No.  3;  i  Scale  No.  M.  30;  ^  doz.  Saws  No.  S3 
(16  in.);  ^  doz.  Saws  No.  s^  (22  in.);  J  doz.  Knives  No.  955; 
I  doz.  Knives  No.  490;  J  doz.  Steels  No.  S2;  J  doz.  Cleavers 
No.  09;  i  doz.  Block  Scrapers.  He  explains  that  he  is  the  same 
man  who  formerly  had  a  meat  market  in  Lafayette. 

4.  Orr  &  Locket  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  order,  enclose 
the  invoice,  and  offer  him  5%  discount  for  pa3anent  within  30  days. 
Write  the  letter. 

5.  A  Detroit  manufacturer  sends  you  f.o.b.  prices  on  his 
motor  wagons.    Investigate  the  prices  and  write  the  letter. 

6.  Order  one  of  them.     (Remember  the  f.o.b.  item.) 


290  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

7.  He  writes  confirming  your  order,  saying  that  the  car  is  now 
in  the  shipper's  hands  and  that  his  bank  has  sent  the  order  bill  of 
lading  with  draft  attached  to  the  First  National  Bank  of  your 
city.     Write  the  letter.      (See  page  344.) 

8.  At  the  same  time  the  shipper's  bank  sends  a  letter  to  the 
First  National  Bank  of  your  city  enclosing  the  order  bill  of  lading 
with  draft  drawn  on  you  for  collection.  A  copy  of  this  letter  is 
also  mailed  to  you.     Write  it. 

9.  You  telephone  your  bank  to  draw  on  your  account  for 
the  amount  of  the  draft  and  to  send  you  the  bill  of  lading.  You 
confirm  this  understanding  by  a  letter.     Write  it. 

10.  Your  bank  writes,  confirming  the  telephone  conversation 
and  enclosing  the  bill  of  lading  and  a  receipt  for  the  correct 
amount.  You  present  your  bill  of  lading,  pay  the  freight  charges, 
and  get  your  motor  wagon.     Write  the  letter  the  bank  sends. 

11.  The  automobile  manufacturer  has  meanwhile  received 
through  his  bank  a  credit  for  the  amount  you  paid  for  the  car  and 
writes  acknowledging  its  receipt.    Write  the  letter. 

Exercise  262 

Choose  four  or  six  members  of  the  class,  one-half  of  whom 
are  to  argue  in  favor  of  the  policy  indicated  in  the  plan  out- 
lined below  and  one-half  of  whom  are  to  argue  against  it. 

A  certain  grocer  opened  a  store  with  the  determination  of 
doing  a  strictly  cash  business,  and  of  making  no  deliveries 
unless  the  purchaser  paid  for  the  delivery.  This  was  his 
plan  as  suggested  by  System: 

1.  To  those  who  would  carry  their  own  purchases  he  sold 
everything  for  cash  much  lower  than  any  other  grocer  in  town 
sold  it. 

2.  If  the  customer  bought  very  bulky  goods,  or  if  he  did  not 
wish  to  be  his  own  delivery  man,  the  grocer  charged  him  for 
delivery  a  certain  percentage  of  the  total  of  his  cash  purchases. 
Yet  the  customer  bought  more  cheaply  than  he  could  buy  in  any 
other  grocery  in  town. 

3.  Those  who  wished  to  pay  once  a  month  instead  of  at  every 
visit  he  advised  to  deposit  a  certain  sum  of  money  with  him  as 
banker  and  to  buy  against  that,  paying  cash  prices  and  receiving 
3%  interest  on  the  amount  left  on  deposit. 


DISTRIBUTION  291 

II.  —  The  Wholesale  Merchant 
Exercise  263 

Oral 
Each  of  the  following  should  be  developed  into  a  paragraph: 

1.  You  are  a  manufacturer  and  wholesale  distributor  with  a 
factory  on  the  outskirts  of  a  town;  would  you  have  a  warehouse 
in  the  center  of  the  town?     Give  reasons  for  your  answer. 

2.  What  would  be  the  advantage  of  having  your  warehouse 
near  the  railroad  freight  depots?     Near  the  docks? 

3.  What  would  be  the  advantage  of  being  located  in  a  large 
city  with  many  railroads  and  with  water  transportation  facilities 
—  Chicago,  for  example? 

4.  Speed  gets  orders.  With  this  in  view,  what  would  you 
recommend  with  respect  to  the  equipment  for  handling?  What 
would  you  suggest  about  the  number  of  people  through  whose 
hands  the  order  would  have  to  go  before  being  shipped? 

5.  If  you  were  looking  for  big  trade  in  a  big  city,  what  kind  of 
stock  would  you  carry?    Musical  instruments?     Clothing? 

6.  Would  it  be  a  good  plan  to  make  a  specialty  of  certain 
brands  for  leaders  and  to  quote  a  special  price  on  them? 

7.  If  you  were  just  starting  a  wholesale  hardware  or  grocery 
business,  state  which  you  think  would  be  the  better  policy:  (i) 
to  concentrate  on  one  kind  of  goods  in  one  territory  and  to  take 
on  other  kinds  and  territories  later,  or  (2)  to  work  all  kinds  of 
goods  as  widely  as  possible  from  the  very  beginning.  Explain  . 
fully. 

8.  Would  you  bear  part  of  the  expense  of  retailers'  advertis- 
ing, especially  of  window  displays,  provided  they  handled  your 
goods? 

9.  Would  it  be  good  business  for  the  salesmen  of  the  firm  to 
suggest  selling  methods  to  retailers  and  to  plan  window  displays 
for  them?     Give  your  reasons. 

10.  Do  you  think  it  would  increase  sales  to  offer  a  money  prize 
to  the  retailer  selling  the  largest  amount  of  a  certain  kind  of  your 
goods,  the  sale  of  which  you  wished  materially  to  increase? 

11.  Tell  which  you  think  would  be  the  better  policy:  (i)  to 
undersell  your  competitors  for  a  time  and  then,  when  you  had  the 
trade,  to  raise  your  prices,  or  (2)  to  set  one  price  and  maintain  it 
from  the  beginning.     Give  your  reasons. 


292  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

12.  If  you  were  getting  out  a  new  brand  of  carpenters'  tools, 
where  would  you  advertise?  Would  you  conduct  an  extensive 
national  campaign? 

13.  If  you  were  bringing  out  a  new  soap  or  washing  powder, 
where  would  you  advertise?  Would  you  conduct  an  extensive 
national  advertising  campaign?  What  would  your  answer  be 
if  you  were  introducing  a  new  brand  of  crackers? 

14.  Would  bringing  out  novelties  from  time  to  time  help  the 
sale  of  your  staple  articles?    Explain. 

15.  Do  you  think  it  would  pay  to  send  circulars  to  the  house- 
wives of  a  certain  locality  to  get  the  local  grocers'  trade?  After 
you  had  the  local  grocers'  trade? 

Exercise  264 

Written 

1.  You  are  Thos.  H.  Peabody  of  Peabody,  Harper  &  Co.'s 
wholesale  grocery.  Prepare  a  circular  letter,  announcing  your 
removal  to  a  new  building.  The  letter  will  be  printed  in  imi- 
tation of  typewriting  and  the  introduction  filled  in  later  on  the 
typewriter.  Remember  you  are  seeking  patronage.  Address 
one  letter  to  Walter  T.  Barth,  350  E.  Water  St.,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

2.  Write  an  advertisement  to  appear  in  the  January  number 
of  The  Grocer  and  Country  Merchant,  a  grocers'  trade  journal. 
It  will  announce  your  change  of  location. 

3.  You  receive  an  order  from  a  retailer  in  which  he  asks  for 
a  certain  brand  of  cofifee  that  you  do  not  carry.  Write  a  letter 
telling  him  you  do  not  handle  that  brand  and  offering  him  another. 
Make  the  letter  as  courteous  as  possible. 

4.  Write  an  advertisement  for  (i)  a  bookkeeper;  (2)  a  stenog- 
rapher. 

5.  Answer  (i)  or  (2)  above. 

6.  Write  an  advertisement  for  a  traveling  salesman. 

7.  Answer  (6)  telling  why  you  think  you  could  sell  groceries 
although  you  have  had  no  experience. 

8.  Write  a  circular  letter  to  send  to  the  trade  setting  forth 
the  merits  of  a  new  brand  of  canned  fruit.  Say  that  you  are 
offering  the  brand  at  a  very  attractive  price  in  the  expectation 
that  retailers  will  make  it  a  leader.    Write  to  Mr.  Barth  (i). 

9.  You  have  made  a  contract  with  the  manufacturers  of  the 
canned  fruit  mentioned  in  (8),  by  which  you  secure  the  exclusive 


DISTRIBUTION  293 

sale  but  take  the  responsibility  of  advertising.  Write  to  an  ad- 
vertising agency  saying  that  you  are  considering  a  three  months' 
advertising  campaign.  Explain  that  you  do  not  wish  the  expense 
to  exceed  five  thousand  dollars. 

10.  The  advertising  agency  replies  that,  as  five  thousand  dollars 
is  a  comparatively  small  sum  for  a  campaign,  it  would  suggest 
that  the  advertising  be  confined  to  one  class:  street  car,  bill- 
board, newspaper,  or  magazine.     Write  the  letter. 

11.  Notify  the  agency  of  your  choice,  giving  your  reasons. 

12.  Write  a  series  of  three  letters  to  send  to  housewives,  ad- 
vertising the  canned  fruit,  with  the  purpose  of  having  them  ask 
for  this  brand  at  their  grocers':  (i)  Telling  the  name  of  the  canned 
fruit,  its  excellence,  its  price,  and  where  it  may  be  bought;  (2) 
Asking  if  the  housewife  has  as  yet  bought  any,  and  if  she  has  not, 
telling  her  she  can  get  a  sample  at  her  grocer's  on  presentation  of 
this  letter;  (3)  Asking  how  she  liked  the  fruit  and  quoting  a  letter 
of  recommendation  received  from  Mrs.  A.,  who  lives  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. Urge  her  to  buy,  but  not  too  abruptly.  A  letter  to  a 
woman  should  be  fairly  long.      (See  page  265.) 

Exercise  265 

1.  For  two  months  you  have  been  without  a  credit  man.  You 
wish  to  be  very  careful  in  your  choice  because  of  the  importance 
of  the  position.  J.  B.  Wright  of  439  Russell  Ave.,  Indianapolis, 
is  a  personal  friend  of  yours.  He  has  heard  that  you  need  a  credit 
man  and  he  recommends  Joseph  Haddon,  who  worked  for  him 
three  years  in  that  capacity  until  a  year  ago  when  he  went  to 
Colorado  because  of  the  ill-health  of  his  wife.  Meanwhile,  Mr. 
Wright's  son  has  been  acting  as  his  credit  man.  Mrs.  Haddon 
has  now  recovered,  and  her  husband  is  anxious  to  get  another 
position.    Reproduce  Mr.  Wright's  letter. 

2.  Write  the  letter  Mr.  Wright  sends  Mr.  Haddon  in  Colorado, 
suggesting  that  the  latter  apply  for  the  position. 

3.  At  the  same  time  Joseph  Haddon  writes,  applying  for  the 
position.     Write  the  letter  of  application. 

4.  Send  to  The  Grocer  and  Country  Merchant  for  a  year's  sub- 
scription. 

5.  Joseph  Haddon,  whom  you  have  engaged,  is  proving  to  be 
a  very  alert  credit  man.  He  has  made  a  study  of  your  credit 
files  and  has  discovered  that  you  have  a  great  many  accounts  of 
long  standing  that  ought  to  be  collected.    He  prepares  a  courteous 


294  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

letter  to  send  to  the  debtors,  telling  them  that  he  has  just  been 
made  credit  man  and  that  he  personally  would  like  to  get  into 
closer  touch  with  their  particular  situation  to  find  out  how  soon 
he  might  expect  a  remittance  from  them  so  that  he  could  plan 
the  future  of  his  department.*  Write  the  letter.     (See  page  254.) 

6.  A  number  of  retailers  remit  the  amount  that  they  owe. 
Some  explain  their  situation  in  detail,  but  a  great  many  do  not 
respond  to  (5).  Write  another  letter,  still  courteous,  but  more 
emphatic  than  (5)  to  those  who  did  not  respond.     (See  page  255.) 

7.  Still  a  number  do  not  respond.  Write  a  third  letter,  say- 
ing that  you  will  place  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  your  attorney 
unless  you  receive  a  remittance  within  ten  days. 

8.  Mr.  Haddon  discovers  that  there  are  about  a  hundred 
retailers  who  used  to  be  customers,  but  who  have  bought  nothing 
for  about  two  years.  He  reports  this  to  the  sales  manager,  Mr. 
James  Wood  worth,  who  writes  a  letter  to  the  retailers  to  induce 
them  to  send  another  order,  using  the  canned  fruit  spoken  of  in 
(8)  of  Exercise  264  as  a  means  of  interesting  them. 

9.  Nathaniel  Sears,  a  dealer  in  general  merchandise  at  Joplin, 
Mo.,  writes  to  you  asking  for  an  open  account.  He  says  that  he 
did  a  $10,000  business  last  year  and  that,  apparently,  sales  this 
year  will  be  larger.  He  gives  no  references.  You  refer  the  matter 
to  Mr.  Haddon,  who  looks  up  Mr.  Sears  in  Bradstreet  and  then 
writes  to  one  of  your  salesmen  at  St.  Louis,  asking  him  to  investi- 
gate the  financial  standing  of  Mr.  Sears.     Write  to  the  salesman. 

10.  After  three  days  the  salesman  reports  that  Mr.  Sears  seems 
to  be  doing  a  good  business,  but  he  thinks  the  dealer  is  living 
beyond  his  means.  He  owes  two  wholesale  houses  $500  and  $850 
respectively;  his  property  in  Joplin  is  heavily  mortgaged,  and 
yet  he  is  making  extensive  improvements  on  his  residence;  his 
son  and  his  daughter  are  at  expensive  boarding  schools.  Write 
the  letter.     Be  exact  in  your  information. 

11.  As  Mr.  Woodworth,  write  Mr.  Sears  a  courteous  letter, 
refusing  him  credit  but  attempting  to  secure  his  cash  business. 

12.  Charles  Freeman,  141  Park  Place,  Newark,  Ohio,  writes 
in  answer  to  (5)  saying  that  he  is  unable  to  pay  his  account  of 
$500.  After  the  harvest  his  outstanding  bills  will  be  paid  by  the 
farmers,  and  then  he  can  remit.  He  says  he  is  willing  to  give  his 
90  day  note  for  the  amount  he  owes. 

13.  Mr.  Haddon  writes  accepting  the  note. 


DISTRIBUTION       ^  295 

III.  —  The  Mail  Order  Merchant 
Exercise  266 

Oral 

1.  Suppose  you  were  starting  a  mail  order  business.  Would 
it  make  any  difference  in  possible  profits  if  your  center  of  opera- 
tions were  in  a  large  or  a  small  city?     Give  your  reasons. 

2.  Would  you  try  to  be  near  good  transportation? 

3.  What  kind  of  stock  would  you  advertise  principally:  bulky 
articles  or  those  easily  handled?  expensive  goods  or  those  of  more 
moderate  price? 

4.  Your  catalogue  is  your  salesman.  What  would  this  state- 
ment suggest  about  the  cost  of  running  your  business  as  compared 
with  that  of  Peabody,  Harper  &  Co.,  who  employ  five  salesmen? 

5.  How  would  you  bring  special  attention  to  your  leaders  in 
your  catalogue? 

6.  Why  is  it  advisable  not  to  give  your  catalogue  away  free, 
but  to  charge  a  nominal  sum  for  it? 

7.  Would  you  sell  as  cheaply  as  you  could  or  would  you  try 
to  sell  for  as  high  a  price  as  possible  even  if  you  sold  less? 

8.  Is  it  profitable  for  a  mail  order  merchant  to  sell  one  spool 
of  thread  or  one  pocket-knife?  Consider  the  handling  and  the 
packing. 

9.  Why  can  the  mail  order  merchant  sell  more  cheaply  than 
the  country  dealer? 

10.  a.  How  is  the  parcel  post  favorable  to  the  mail  order 

dealer? 
h.  Why  did  the  country  merchant  object  so  strenuously 
to  the  passage  of  the  parcel  post  law? 

11.  Some  distributors  who  handle  only  one  kind  of  article  some- 
times pay  the  freight.  Would  this  plan  be  advisable  for  a  mail 
order  house  to  adopt? 

12.  Since  the  purchaser  pays  the  freight,  is  it  advisable  for 
him  to  buy  a  large  or  a  small  order  at  one  time? 

Exercise  267 

Written 

I.  A  customer  who  wishes  to  buy  some  furniture  complains 
that  he  can  purchase  what  he  wishes  from  another  firm  that  will 
pay  the  freight.    Write  a  letter  meeting  his  objection. 


296  ^BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

2.  You  have  just  added  a  new  clothing  department  and  have 
published  a  special  clothing  catalogue,  which  you  will  be  glad 
to  send  to  your  customers  free  of  charge.  Write  a  letter  telling 
of  the  new  department  and  drawing  special  attention  to  your 
three-piece  serge  suit  for  $15.     Enclose  a  sample  of  the  cloth. 

3.  Write,  especially  to  farmers,  saying  that  with  the  facilities 
now  offered  by  the  parcel  post  you  are  able  to  supply  their  wants 
quickly;  as,  for  example,  for  a  broken  part  of  a  piece  of  farm 
machinery.     Write  a  fairly  long  letter  in  a  friendly  tone. 

4.  In  the  fall  write  a  letter,  addressing  the  farmers'  wives, 
saying  that,  as  winter  is  at  hand,  it  would  be  well  for  them  to  put 
in  a  supply  of  groceries  when  prices  are  reasonable.  Enclose  a 
folder  giving  some  attractive  bargains. 

5.  Write  a  letter,  saying  that  you  have  just  put  up  a  new 
building.  Invite  your  customer  to  come  to  see  it.  Explain  that 
every  afternoon  from  2  to  4  o'clock  there  will  be  a  band  concert 
in  your  large  visitors'  hall. 

Exercise  268 

1.  Let  one  pupil  be  chosen  to  dictate  to  the  class  each 
of  the  letters  outlined  below.  He  is  to  use  no  notes.  The 
class  will  represent  stenographers. 

2.  Discuss  and  improve  the  letters  that  have  been 
dictated. 

1.  Borroughs  &  Brown,  a-  mail  order  firm  at  N.  nth  and 
Callowhill  Streets,  Philadelphia,  send  you  their  catalogue  and  a 
letter.    Write  the  letter. 

2.  Write,  stating  that  in  their  catalogue  No.  6,  page  673, 
Borroughs  &  Brown  list  a  washing  machine  such  as  you  wish, 
called  the  ''Pride  Swing"  washing  machine.  No.  4-A-459.  The 
measurements  as  listed  are:  depth  13  inches,  diameter  21  inches. 
The  price  is  $5.25.  This  is  too  small  for  your  purpose.  Ask  if 
they  can  supply  you  with  the  same  style  30  inches  in  diameter. 
Ask  the  price. 

3.  Borroughs  &  Brown  write  that  they  have  no  such  machine 
in  stock,  but,  since  there  have  been  many  requests  lately  for  a 
larger  machine,  they  have  decided  to  consult  the  factory,  and  if 
it  is  advisable,  they  will  reproduce  the  ''Pride  Swing"  machine 
in  larger  size.     (Letter  head.) 

4.  Borroughs  &  Brown,  Dept.  18,  House  Furnishings,  write  to 


DISTRIBUTION  297 

the  W.  F.  Wiggins  Mfg.  Co.,  Saginaw,  Mich.,  stating  that  they  have 
had  several  orders  for  a  larger  ''Pride  Swing"  washing  machine 
which  the  Wiggins  Company  manufacture.  Burroughs  &  Brown 
ask  concerning  a  30-inch  machine.     Write  the  letter. 

5.  The  W.  F.  Wiggins  Mfg.  Co.  telegraph  Borroughs  &  Brown 
that  before  they  can  state  a  price  on  a  30-inch  "Pride  Swing" 
machine,  they  must  make  samples,  calculating  cost  of  materials 
and  workmanship.  Write  the  telegram.  Confirm  by  letter. 
Write  the  letter. 

6.  Borroughs  &  Brown  write  you,  giving  the  information  con- 
tained in  (5)  above. 

7.  The  W.  F.  Wiggins  Mfg.  Co.  write  Borroughs  &  Brown, 
stating  that  after  several  experiments  they  find  that  the  coil 
springs  by  which  the  *' Pride  Swing"  machine  is  operated  are 
too  weak  for  the  larger  sized  tub.  The  manufacture  of  suitable 
springs  will  cause  some  delay  in  their  final  report. 

8.  Ten  days  later.  Telegram.  The  W.  F.  Wiggins  Mfg. 
Co.  to  Borroughs  &  Brown,  stating  that  they  have  now  perfected 
a  ''Pride  Swing  Special"  machine;  width  30  inches,  depth  18 
inches;  price  $8,  with  a  discount  of  50%. 

9.  Borroughs  &  Brown  write  you  that  they  have  perfected  a 
''Pride  Swing  Special"  washing  machine.  No.  4-B-459,  30  inches 
in  diameter,  18  inches  in  depth,  price  $7.  Add  a  courteous 
close. 

10.  Order  five  machines.  Give  full  shipping  directions.  Say 
that  you  will  pay  according  to  the  offer  made  on  page  25,  catalogue 
No.  6;  viz.,  $20  upon  receipt  of  the  goods  and  $5  per  month  until 
they  are  paid  for.     Give  two  references. 

11.  Borroughs  &  Brown  telegraph  the  W.  F.  Wiggins  Mfg.  Co. 
ordering  100  machines,  five  of  which  are  to  be  sent  directly  to 
you.     Write,    confirming  the  telegram. 

12.  Two  weeks  later  than  letter  (10)  write  again,  explaining 
that  you  have  not  received  the  machines  you  ordered.  Ask  the 
reason  for  the  delay. 

13.  Two  weeks  later  than  (11)  write  a  telegram  from  Borroughs 
&  Brown  to  the  W.  F.  Wiggins  Mfg.  Co.,  asking  why  the  machines 
have  not  been  sent. 

14.  Send  a  telegram  from  the  W.  F.  Wiggins  Mfg.  Co.  to  Bor- 
roughs &  Brown,  saying  that,  owing  to  a  teamsters'  and  shipping 
clerks'  strike,  they  have  not  been  able  to  fill  any  of  their  orders 
for  the  last  two  weeks.  The  machines  have  been  sent.  (State 
how  and  when.)     Write  a  letter,  confirming  the  telegram. 


298  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

15.  Borroughs  &  Brown  write  to  inform  you  that  the  strike 
was  the  cause  of  the  delay  in  the  shipment  of  the  machines  you 
ordered .  The  machines  were  shipped .  Add  a  cour- 
teous close. 

Exercise  269 

Conduct  a  transaction  of  your  own,  using  the  above  as 
a  model,  except  in  the  method  of  payment. 

IV.  —  The  Salesman 

Salesmanship  is  a  branch  of  distribution  about  which 
many  volumes  have  been  written.  We  cannot  consider  it 
minutely  from  the  personal  view  of  the  salesman,  but  can 
only  touch  upon  it  from  the  point  of  view  of  distribu- 
tion. The  salesman  is  merely  a  force  in  distribution  like 
correspondence,  circulars,  and  advertising.  But  the  sales- 
man has  the  advantage  over  these  in  that  he  is  able  to 
bring  his  personality  to  bear  in  the  problem  of  getting 
business.  It  is  by  means  of  his  personality  that  the  sales- 
man gets  the  attention  and  confidence  of  the  customer,  — 
a  thing  which  is  extremely  hard  to  do  in  a  letter,  a  circular, 
or  an  advertisement.  Securing  a  buyer^s  confidence  is  very 
important,  because  no  suspicious  customer  has  ever  yet 
bought  anything. 

In  addition  to  a  pleasing  personality  a  good  salesman  must 
have  a  wide  and  thorough  knowledge  of  his  wares.  If  he 
does  not  know  his  goods,  the  sale  drags;  whereas,  if  he  knows 
everything  good  there  is  to  be  known  about  them,  his  enthu- 
siasm instills  enthusiasm  into  the  customer. 

After  bringing  his  knowledge  and  his  enthusiasm  into  play, 
he  must  next  call  on  his  perseverance  and  his  tact;  perse- 
verance to  keep  at  the  customer  until  he  gets  the  order,  and 
tact  to  know  in  each  case  just  how  to  go  about  getting  the 
order  and  just  when  to  stop.  Many  salesmen  talk  too  much; 
many  more  do  not  talk  enough. 


DISTRIBUTION  299 

Exercise  270 
Oral 

In  talking  on  any  of  the  following  subjects  be  sure  you 
know  just  what  you  are  going  to  say  before  you  begin,  and 
then  say  it  clearly  and  convincingly.  Don't  say  too  much 
and  don't  say  too  little.  Just  exactly  how  much  you 
should  say  no  one  can  tell  you.  You  must  watch  your 
audience.  If  they  look  puzzled,  give  more  details;  if  they 
look  bored,  try  shorter,  more  concise  sentences,  or  bring 
your  talk  to  a  close.  After  you  have  explained  all  your 
points,  sum  them  up  briefly  at  the  end.  Remember  that 
your  talk  must,  first,  attract  attention;  second,  hold  the 
interest;   and  third,  create  enthusiasm  and  desire  to  buy. 

To  supplement  what  facts  you  get  from  observation,  study 
advertisements  and  catalogues  to  get  material  for  (9)  to 
(20)  below: 

1.  Get  up  a  talk  to  persuade  a  freshman  or  a  group  of  fresh- 
men to  subscribe  to  the  school  paper. 

2.  To  persuade  girls  to  contribute  to  a  fund  to  be  used  to  buy 
suits  for  the  football  team. 

3.  To  induce  particularly  uninterested  freshmen  to  buy 
tickets  for  a  school  activity;  for  example,  a  debate. 

4.  As  a  real  estate  agent  induce  a  classmate  to  establish  a 
home  in  your  neighborhood. 

5.  Try  to  sell  the  manager  of  the  baseball  team  a  new  line  of 
athletic  goods. 

6.  Try  to  sell  a  set  of  Dickens'  (or  any  other  author's)  works 
to  a  boy  who  is  not  fond  of  reading.  You  must  enjoy  the  books 
that  you  recommend. 

7.  Try  to  sell  the  class  or  the  teacher  a  new  kind  of  loose 
leaf  note  book  for  science  or  English  work. 

8.  As  an  agent  for  the  publishers  try  to  sell  this  text  book  to 
your  English  class  or  to  your  English  teacher. 

9.  You  are  trying  to  sell  an  automobile  to  a  farmer.  By 
means  of  concrete  examples  develop  the  following  items  into  a 
talk: 

a.  The  business  opportunities  to  be  gained. 

b.  The  social  opportunities  to  be  gained. 


300  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

10.  Get  up  a  talk  to  sell  a  runabout  to  a  physician  who 
has  a  small  practice.  Suppose  that  he  owns  a  horse  and  a  buggy. 
Be  tactful. 

11.  You  are  a  salesman  for  an  automobile  house  and  are  trying 
to  sell  a  gasoline  car  to  a  man  who  is  partial  to  an  electric  car. 
Meet  the  objections  to  the  gasoline  car  and  put  forward  its 
advantages. 

12.  You  are  trying  to  sell  an  electric  runabout  to  a  woman. 
Develop  the  following  into  a  talk: 

a.  Ease  of  operation. 

h.  Noiselessness  and  comfort. 

c.   Elegant  appearance. 

13.  You  are  trying  to  sell  the  manager  of  a  local  express  com- 
pany a  motor  truck.  Gather  all  the  data  you  can  and  present  it 
in  a  talk  on  why  he  should  replace  his  horses  and  wagons  with 
motor  trucks.    Be  as  specific  as  possible. 

14.  Get  up  a  talk  showing  why  a  man  with  considerable  means 
should  trade  his  two  year  old  car  as  part  payment  for  the  latest 
model. 

15.  Get  up  a  talk  to  sell  a  phonograph. 

16.  To  sell  an  electric  washing  machine. 

17.  To  sell  a  piano. 

18.  To  sell  a  vacuum  cleaner. 

19.  To  sell  a  subscription  to  a  magazine. 

20.  To  obtain  an  order  for  groceries  or  teas  and  coffees.  The 
offer  of  premiums  might  add  to  the  effectiveness  of  your  talk. 

Exercise  271 

The  following  paragraph  was  adapted  from  William  C. 
Freeman's  Advertising  Talks. 

George  Washington's  Cherry  Tree  Story  has  served  a  good 
purpose  through  all  of  these  years.  "I  cannot  tell  a  lie  "  is  a  phrase 
that  has  been  used  in  every  schoolroom  in  America  to  impress 
upon  young  minds  the  importance  of  truth  telling.  The  phrase 
is  also  serving  its  purpose  outside  the  schoolroom.  In  all  pro- 
fessions and  in  all  kinds  of  business,  men  know  that  in  order  to 
make  good  they  must  tell  the  truth.  There  never  was,  in  all  the 
history  of  the  country,  a  greater  movement  than  now  toward 
universal  truth  telling.    There  is  not  even  that  winking  at  ''white  " 


DISTRIBUTION  301 

lies  that  used  to  prevail.  The  man  who  does  not  make  a  direct 
statement,  who  does  not  earn  a  reputation  for  being  honest,  has 
no  chance  of  succeeding.  Time  was  when  the  trickster  was  re- 
garded as  shrewd  and  was  accepted  in  the  community  as  being 
right  both  socially  and  commercially.  To-day  the  man  who  has 
money  without  a  reputation  for  integrity  is  a  bankrupt,  as  far  as 
real  friends  and  public  opinion  are  concerned.  The  expression 
"I  cannot  tell  a  lie"  has  been  changed  to-day  to  "I  will  not  teU 
a  lie  even  if  the  lie  seems  more  expedient  than  the  blunt  truth." 
So  George  Washington's  Cherry  Tree  Story  is  as  good  to-day  as 
it  ever  was. 

Prepare  paragraphs  on  the  following  suggestions,  expand- 
ing each  by  examples: 

1.  As  a  salesman,  be  honest  with  your  customers. 

2.  Cultivate  tact. 

3.  Cultivate  a  conscience. 

4.  Learn  to  avoid  friction. 

5.  Acknowledge  your  mistakes^ 

6.  Don't  criticise. 

7.  Don't  procrastinate. 

8.  Don't  boast. 

9.  Don't  buy  your  clothes  on  time. 

10.  Don't  borrow  from  fellow  clerks. 

11.  Don't  think  your  employer  can't  see  whether  you  are 
working. 

12.  Don't  sell  a  merchant  a  larger  order  than  he  can  move. 

13.  Study  the  duties  of  the  man  ahead  of  you. 

14.  New  ideas  count  with  your  employer. 

15.  He  can  who  thinks  he  can. 

Exercise  272 

Written 

1.  A  request  has  come  in  from  your  territory  for  your  auto- 
mobile catalogue.  Write  a  letter  to  accompany  the  catalogue, 
inviting  the  inspection  of  your  cars.  Make  it  as  personal  as 
possible. 

2.  You  have  just  been  talking  with  a  prospective  buyer.  Drive 
home  some  of  the  strong  points  of  your  car  in  a  letter  exploiting 
strength,  reliability,  and  speed.  Use  the  following  as  a  basis  of 
your  letter:    The  Up-to-the-minute  car  breaks  the  record  from 


302  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  making  the  trip  in  ten  days,  fifteen 
hours,  and  thirteen  seconds. 

3.  You  have  just  shown  your  motor  truck  to  a  business  man. 
Strengthen  the  impression  you  made  on  him  by  writing  him  a 
letter  summing  up  the  important  advantages  of  the  motor  truck. 
Use  the  following  extract  from  a  letter: 

"It  has  not  missed  a  single  trip  since  I  have  had  it,  and  it  takes 
the  place  of  three  wagons  and  twelve  horses.  My  route  from 
Waltham  is  so  long  that  a  pair  of  horses  going  over  it  one  day  has 
to  be  laid  off  the  next. 

"This  truck  makes  three  trips  each  day.  I  have  had  it  on  the 
road  nearly  four  months  and  have  covered  over  four  thousand 
(4,000)  miles  with  no  expense  for  repairs." 

4.  A  prospective  customer  has  lost  interest.  Try  to  arouse 
him  once  more  by  telling  him  of  a  particularly  good  sale  recently 
made,  or  of  a  new  model  just  received,  or  of  a  new  device  lately 
perfected.     Your  object' is  to  get  him  to  inspect  your  cars  again. 

5.  Write  a  letter  to  a  wealthy  man  who  bought  one  of  your 
cars  two  years  ago,  offering  him  half  of  what  he  paid  for  the  car 
in  exchange  for  a  new  model.  Make  him  see  that  it  would  be  to 
his  advantage  to  accept  the  offer. 

6.  Write  an  advertisement  to  appear  in  a  local  newspaper 
asking  for  an  automobile  salesman. 

7.  Answer  the  advertisement,  telling  why  you  think  you  could 
sell  cars,  although  you  have  had  no  experience. 

8.  Write  a  letter  to  a  friend  telling  him  you  have  been  offered 
the  agency  for  the  Up-to-the-minute  car.  Ask  him  to  be  your 
partner,  and  try  to  show  him  why  you  will  succeed.  He  will  be 
expected  to  bear  half  the  office  expenses,  and  he  will  get  half  the 
commissions. 

Exercise  273  —  Suggestions  for  Debates 

1.  The  mail  order  house  ruins  the  trade  of  the  country 
merchant. 

2.  The  giving  of  free  samples  does  not  attract  desirable 
purchasers. 

3.  The  use  of  trading  stamps  should  be  abolished. 

4.  The  motor  wagon  is  more  advantageous  for  the  average 
grocer  than  the  horse  and  wagon. 

5.  All  manufactured  food  products  should  be  sold  in  sanitary, 
sealed  packages. 


DISTRIBUTION  303 

Exercise  274 
Oral  or  Written 

Prepare  paragraphs  on  the  following: 

1.  A  merchant  must  know  his  neighborhood  before  he  buys 
his  stock. 

2.  Selling  by  weight  rather  than  by  measure  benefits  dealer 
and  consumer. 

3.  Giving  short  weights  does  not  prove  profitable. 

4.  The  price  of  a  certain  kind  of  goods,  or  of  an  article,  that 
is  going  out  of  style  should  be  reduced  to  move  it  quickly. 

5.  If  merchants  did  not  deliver  purchases,  goods  would  be 
cheaper. 

6.  Hard  work  and  patience  spell  the  merchant's  success. 

7.  The  middle  man  gets  the  bulk  of  the  profit. 

8.  The  telegraph  is  a  great  aid  to  the  business  man. 

9.  There  is  a  difference  between  day  and  night  telegraphic 
rates. 

10.  Money  may  be  sent  by  telegraph. 

11.  The  night  letter  is  very  useful  to  the  merchant. 

12.  The  parcel  post  is  a  great  help  to  the  farmer. 

13.  The  parcel  post  tends  to  increase  the  business  of  the  mail 
order  firms. 

14.  The  object  of  an  automobile  exhibit  is  to  sell  cars. 

15.  The  five-and- ten-cent  stores  have  succeeded  because . 

Exercise  275 

Prepare  paragraphs  on  the  following : 

1.  The  importance  of  transportation  facihties  to  the  farmer. 

2.  The  importance  of  transportation  facilities  to  the  manu- 
facturer. 

3.  The  steamship  in  international  trade. 

4.  Transportation  before  the  days  of  the  railroad. 

5.  The  influence  of  the  railroad  in  the  advance  of  civilization. 

6.  Electrifying  the  railroads. 

7.  Speed,  the  cause  of  railroad  accidents. 

8.  The  observation  car. 

9.  The  care  of  food  in  the  refrigerator  car. 
10.  The  work  of  the  railroad  repair-shop. 


304  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

11.  The    advantage    of    railroad    transportation    over    water 
transportation. 

12.  The  advantage  of  water  transportation  over  railroad  trans- 
portation. 

13.  Why  the  larger  railroads  in  our  country  run  east  and  west. 

14.  The  advantages  of  the  pay-as-you-enter  car. 

15.  The   importance   of   the   interurban   electric  railroads  in 
country  trade. 

16.  The  disadvantages  of  the  elevated  system  in  large  cities. 

17.  Congestion  in  the  business  district  of  a  large  city. 

18.  The  underground  system  as  a  solution  for  congested  traffic. 

19.  The  work  of  a  transfer  company. 

20.  The  motor  truck  decreases  the  business  of  the  express 
companies. 

21.  The  automobile  decreases  railroad  suburban  business. 

Exercise  276 
Topics  for  Investigation  and  Discussion 

1.  The  work  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission. 

2.  How  railroads  control  other  railroads. 

3.  Railroad  earnings. 

4.  Different  kinds  of  railroad  traffic. 

5.  The  relation  between  the  express  companies  and  the  rail- 
roads. 

6.  Railroad  rates  and  rebates. 

7.  Government  ownership  of  railroads. 

8.  The  influence  of  the  Panama  canal  in  the  growth  of  busi- 
ness in  the  southern  states. 

9. .  The  influence  of  the  canal  in  the  growth  of  business  in  the 
central  West. 

10.  The  influence  of  the  canal  in  the  growth  of  business  in 
South  America. 

11.  The  deep  water  way. 

12.  The  parcel  post  zones. 

Exercise  277 

Books  that  will  Suggest  Topics  for  Talks 

Bolton,  S.  K.,  Successful  Women. 

Chamberlain,  J.  F.,  How  We  Travel. 

Drysdale,  W.,  Helps  for  Ambitious  Boys;   Helps  for  Ambitious  Girls. 


DISTRIBUTION  305 

Fowler,  N.  C,  Practical  Salesmanship;  Starting  in  Life. 

Hale,  E.  E.,  What  Career? 

HiGiNBOTHAM,  H.  N.,  The  Making  of  a  Merchant. 

Laselle,  M.  a.  and  Wiley,  K.  E.,  Vocations  for  Girls. 

LuNDGREN,  Charles,  The  New  Salesmanship. 

Lyde,  L.  W.,  Man  and  his  Markets. 

Mallon,  I.  A.  S.,  The  Business  Girl. 

M ANSON,  G.  J.,  Ready  for  Business. 

Marsden,  O.  S.,  The  Secret  of  Achievement;  The  Yoimg  Man  Entering 

Business. 
Mitten,  G.  E.,  The  Book  of  the  Railway. 
Moody,  W.  D.,  Men  Who  Sell  Things. 
Reed,  et  al.,  Careers  for  the  Coming  Men. 
RocHELEAU,  W.  F.,  Transportation. 
Rollins,  F.  W.,  What  can  a  Young  Man  do? 
Stockwell,  H.  G.,  Essential  Elements  of  Business  Character. 
Stoddard,  W.  O.,  Men  of  Business. 
The  Vocation  Bureau,  Boston,  Vocations  for  Boys.     (Pamphlets  on 

The  Grocer,  The  Machinist,  The  Architect,  etc.) 
White,  S.  J.,  Business  Openings  for  Girls. 

Exercise  278 
Write  the  following  from  dictation: 


Transportation  is  a  great  business  as  well  as  manufacturing  or 
farming.  History  tells  us  that  very  early  people  did  not  have  a 
settled  home,  but,  when  the  grass  began  to  give  out  in  one  part 
of  the  country,  several  members  of  the  community,  perhaps  whole 
tribes,  took  their  belongings  on  their  backs  and  sought  for  a  new 
place  to  settle.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  they  wished  to 
keep  up  some  sort  of  intercourse  with  their  friends.  At  once 
difficulties  arose,  since  hostile  tribes  lived  between  them  and  their 
old  home.  It  was  a  brave  man,  indeed,  who  ventured  to  encounter 
the  dangers  of  the  trip  between  the  settlements.  Such  a  set  of 
men  arose  in  the  peddlers,  who  set  out  alone  or  in  caravans  with 
articles  of  produce  or  manufacture  and  braved  the  dangers  even 
of  a  desert  to  exchange  what  they  carried  for  the  produce  of  the 
old  home.  This  is  the  earliest  form  of  transportation.  Compare 
this  simple  form  with  the  modem  railroad,  steamship,  and  express 


3o6  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

2 

Capturing  the  Latin  American  Trade 

No  empty  iteration  of  the  Monroe  doctrine,  no  reservation  of 
canal  privileges,  will  capture  the  trade  of  Latin  America.  This 
will  be  accomplished  only  by  efforts  to  produce  and  to  sell  those 
countries  the  kind  of  goods  that  they  want;  measured,  labeled, 
and  packed  their  way;  offered  in  the  language  that  they  under- 
stand; and,  moreover,  sold  at  attractive  prices.  Our  consuls 
abroad  report  that  in  all  these  essentials  American  dealers  are 
deficient  and  that  British,  French,  and  German  manufacturers 
fill  the  South  American  markets. 

To  these  rivals  must  be  added  another,  for,  in  spite  of  old  South 
American  prejudices  against  Spain  and  Spanish  goods,  the  Span- 
iards are  quietly  regaining  their  footing  in  those  republics  of 
whose  trade  a  century  ago  the  home  country  enjoyed  the  monop- 
oly. Her  advantages,  we  know,  are  a  common  language  and 
familiarity  with  the  ways  of  life  and  the  tastes  of  the  buyers. 
Spain  produces  just  the  kind  of  wine,  olive  oil,  and  canned  goods 
that  South  America  wants;  she  turns  out  the  kind  of  paper,  the 
patterns  of  cotton  goods,  the  styles  of  tools  and  implements, 
the  clothing,  shoes,  and  weapons  used  in  Latin  America;  and  the 
result  is  that  she  gets  the  trade.  One-sixth,  at  least,  of  her  entire 
exports  goes  to  her  former  possessions. 


South  Africa  has  been  successfully  operating  an  agricultural 
parcel  post.  By  its  instrumentality  gold,  diamonds,  minerals, 
wool,  feathers,  saddlery,  boots  and  shoes,  confectionery,  fruit, 
plants,  seed,  butter  and  eggs  suitably  packed,  and  other  farm 
products  are  transported,  and  the  producer  and  consumer  have 
been  brought  together.  From  the  report  of  the  Department  of 
Posts  and  Telegraphs  we  learn  that  the  scheme  has  worked  well, 
is  a  recognized  and  popular  feature  of  the  postal  system,  and  is 
entirely  feasible.  The  sparse  settlements  and  widely  scattered 
population  have  not  operated  to  bar  its  success,  as  was  feared  at 
the  time  of  its  introduction. 

4 
The  duty  of  applying  the  remedy  for  wrecks  rests,  primarily, 
with  the  railroad  managers.     And  what  is  the  remedy,  and  how 
is  it  to  be  applied?    It  would  seem  that  there  can  be  but  one 


DISTRIBUTION  307 

answer:  there  must  be  stem  discipline  for  taking  risks.  There 
must  be  thorough  instruction  as  to  what  risks  are  and  how  to 
avoid  them,  just  such  instruction  as  the  ^'safety  first"  movement 
is  leading  up  to,  but  extended  to  every  man  in  every  department 
of  every  road.  In  addition,  the  promise  that  no  engineman  will 
be  censured  for  losing  or  not  making  up  time  or  for  not  running 
fast  when  it  is  not  considered  safe  to  do  so  must  be  changed  to 
the  positive,  unequivocal  statement  that  there  will  be  a  substan- 
tial penalty  for  every  case  of  running  fast  when  it  is  not  safe  to 
do  so.  —  Railway  Age  Gazette. 


More  and  more  attention,  each  year,  is  being  given  by  the  rail- 
road managers  to  the  locating  of  new  kinds  of  industry  along  their 
Hues.  The  roads  in  the  West  and  the  South  nearly  all  have 
efficient  industrial  departments,  land  departments,  or  immigra- 
tion departments.  Their  men  seek  out  new  industries,  meet  the 
steamers  to  tempt  immigrants  into  their  region,  arrange  for  the 
purchase  or  rental  of  lands,  and  get  together  reports  of  the  soil, 
the  products,  and  the  advantages  of  any  desired  location.  Per- 
haps the  greatest  effort,  however,  is  bent  upon  the  location  of 
new  factories  along  the  route.  In  one  year  one  southern  railroad 
induced  more  than  seven  hundred  men  to  establish  industries  along 
its  lines,  after  the  railroads  had  made  complete  and  painstaking 
investigation  of  all  the  conditions  that  would  confront  the  pro- 
spective manufacturers. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
ADVERTISING 

Advertising  is  one  of  the  most  vital  forces  in  the  problem 
of  distribution.  Every  advertisement  is  a  salesman  and  is 
written  and  sent  out  with  the  idea  of  doing  the  work  of  one. 
It  may  bring  in  actual  orders  or  it  may  merely  do  "mission- 
ary work";  that  is,  it  may  introduce  a  certain  article  or 
product  and  educate  the  people  to  see  its  advantages  so  that 
when  next  they  desire  that  particular  sort  of  article,  they 
will  order  the  one  that  they  have  seen  advertised. 

Many  an  article  that  has  had  practically  no  sale  has  by 
means  of  an  effective  advertising  campaign  been  brought  to 
a  point  of  wide  distribution  and  ready  sale.  How  many 
safety  razors  would  the  manufacturers  sell  if  they  had  never 
advertised  their  product?  Very  few.  But  when  day  after 
day,  everywhere  a  man  looks  —  in  street  cars,  newspapers, 
magazines,  and  on  billboards  —  he  sees  staring  at  him  a 
reason  why  he  should  use  a  safety  razor,  he  soon  comes  to 
feel  that  he  needs  one.  It  is  just  the  same  as  though  the 
country  were  covered  with  salesmen  who  were  constantly 
after  each  one  of  us  to  get  us  to  see  the  advantage  of  the 
safety  razor.  The  advertised  articles  may  in  themselves  be 
no  better  than  the  unadvertised  brands,  but  advertising  has 
created  a  demand  for  the  one  over  the  other.  The  secret 
of  selling  success  is  creating  a  demand. 

The  importance  of  advertising  is  demonstrated  by  an 
experience  which  the  city  of  Chicago  had  on  Wednesday, 
March  2,  1911.  On  the  afternoon  before,  a  dispute  arose 
between  two  newspapers  and  their  printers,  ending  in  a 
temporary  strike  of  the  printers.    As  a  result,  all  papers 


ADVERTISING  309 

published  on  March  2  contained  only  four  pages  each,  in 
contrast  to  the  usual  twenty-four,  because  they  contained 
not  a  single  advertisement.  Fortunately,  the  strike  lasted 
only  one  day,  as  the  local  printers  were  at  once  reprimanded 
by  the  International  Typographical  Union.  But  the  losses 
that  newspapers  and  retail  business  men  suffered  on  this  one 
day  convinced  them  of  the  power  of  advertising.  Street 
cars,  downtown  streets,  and  department  stores  were  almost 
empty.  To  be  sure,  billboards  still  proclaimed  their  wares, 
but,  as  soon  as  newspaper  advertising  ceased,  the  great 
mass  of  shopping  stopped. 

Exercise  279 
Oral 

1.  What  are  some  of  the  advertising  methods  used  in  a  retail 
business? 

2.  What  are  some  of  the  advertising  methods  used  in  a  whole- 
sale business?    Where  are  the  advertisements  published? 

3.  What  is  the  principal  advertising  medium  of  the  mail  order 
house?     Explain  why  it  is  effective. 

4.  What  is  classified  advertising?  Why  are  newspapers 
anxious  to  increase  it?    Name  several  reasons. 

5.  What  is  '^display"  advertising  as  distinguished  from 
classified?  What  is  the  principal  medium  of  this  kind  of  adver- 
tising? 

6.  Give  several  instances  of  advertising  by  means  of  the 
distribution  of  ''novelties,"  such  as  calendars.  Is  such  adver- 
tising effective? 

7.  Is  the  distribution  of  samples  good  advertising?  Be 
specific  in  your  answer. 

8.  Is  it  a  good  thing  to  have  a  trade-mark?  Name  some 
trade-marks  that  you  think  are  good  advertising. 

9.  Is  a  bargain  table  good  advertising?  What  is  its  advantage 
in  a  retail  store? 

10.  What  class  of  advertising  is  done  in  the  classified  columns 
of  a  newspaper? 

11.  What  class  of  articles  and  products  is  advertised  in  the 
street  cars  and  trains?  Expensive  or  inexpensive?  Things  you 
use  every  day  or  not? 


3IO  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

12.  Are  articles  advertised  by  billboards  usually  widely  adver- 
tised articles  or  not? 

13.  What  kind  of  articles  would  you  advertise  in: 

1.  The  newspaper  rather  than  the  magazine? 

2.  The  magazine  rather  than  the  newspaper? 

3.  The  street  car  rather  than  on  the  billboard? 

4.  The  trade  papers  rather  than  the  newspapers? 

14.  Suppose  you  were  bringing  out  a  new  soap  and  you  could 
use  only  one  of  the  following  mediums:  (i)  newspapers;  (2)  local 
and  trade  magazines;  (3)  street  cars;  (4)  billboards  and  posters. 
Which  would  you  choose  and  why?  Would  your  answer  be  the 
same  if  you  had  real  estate  to  sell?  A  new  machine?  If  you 
were  producing  a  new  play? 

15.  News  Item.  —  The  University  of  Wisconsin  has  issued 
a  bulletin,  stating  that  of  all  the  money  spent  for  food,  shelter, 
and  clothing  90%  is  spent  by  women.  Would  the  following  be 
good  advertising  for  a  magazine:  "The  women  of  the  country 
read  this  paper"  ?   Give  reasons  for  your  answer. 

16.  Do  handbills  suggest  cheapness  to  you? 

Exercise  280 

Oral 

Discuss  the  value  of  each  of  the  following  as  forms  of 
advertising: 

1.  Location. 

2.  Furnishings  of  the  office  or  the  store. 

3.  Letter  headings. 

4.  Window  displays. 

5.  Electric  (or  other)  signs. 

6.  Moving  electric  signs. 

7.  Colors  (especially  reds,  greens,  and  yellows)  as  against 
black  and  white. 

8.  White  lettering  on  a  black  background. 

Exercise  281 

Fundamentally,  the  same  principles  apply  to  the  advertise- 
ment as  apply  to  the  sales  letter  (See  page  230).  First  of 
all,  you  must  look  at  your  goods  from  the  standpoint  of 


ADVERTISING  311 

the  user;  see  his  gain  in  buying  rather  than  your  profit  in 
selling.  Your  products,  then,  will  probably  fall  into  one 
of  the  following  general  classes: 

1.  Something  entirely  new  for  which  you  must  create  a 
demand  by  showing  its  advantage  to  the  buyer,  arousing  his 
sense  of  need  and,  consequently,  his  desire  to  possess. 

2.  Something  new  but  filling  a  long-felt  need  —  "Just  what 
youVe  been  looking  for''  —  the  value  of  which  will  appeal  to  the 
buyer  almost  as  soon  as  the  product  is  explained.  Comparison 
with  the  article  that  now  imperfectly  fills  the  want  suggests  itself. 

3.  A  new  brand  of  an  old  staple,  like  crackers,  of  which  the 
superiority  must  be  dwelt  upon  to  induce  buyers  to  ask  for  it. 
Even  after  the  article  is  selling  well,  continuous  advertising  is 
necessary  to  keep  the  name  before  the  public. 

A  paying  advertisement  appeals  to  a  large  class  of  people 
or,  better  still,  to  several  classes.  For  a  moment  let  us 
analyze  a  few  of  the  appeals  to  which  almost  every  one 
responds;  let  us  consider  the  reasons  back  of  our  purchases. 
Why  do  we  buy  one  article  and  not  another?  We  buy  it 
first,  perhaps,  because  we  ne6d  it  or  think  we  need  it;  second, 
because  we  think  it  will  taste  good  or  be  comfortable  or 
good-looking  or  because  it  will  afford  us  amusement;  third, 
because  we  think  it  is  better,  though  possibly  more  expen- 
sive, than  any  other  brand  on  the  market,  and  our  pride 
or  our  desire  to  emulate  responds  to  it;  fourth,  because  we 
think  it  is  good  for  our  health  or  our  safety;  and,  fifth, 
because  we  shall  save  money  or  make  money  thereby. 
Summing  up,  we  may  say  that  the  motives  to  which 
appeals  may  safely  be  made  are: 

1.  Need,  conscious  or  unconscious  (usefulness,  quaUty,  or 
durabihty). 

2.  Comfort,  amusement,  or  appetite. 

3.  Pride,  desire  to  emulate,  or  vanity. 

4.  Health  or  caution. 

5.  Money  (economy). 


312  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

CKp  from  magazines  and  bring  to  class  good  advertise^ 
ments  that  appeal  to  the  motives  named  above.  Try  to 
find  those  advertisements  that  make  an  appeal  to  only  one 
motive  in  one  advertisement. 

Exercise  282 

The  following  catch  phrases  have  been  taken  from  adver- 
tisements in  various  places.  Tell  (i)  whether  their  appeal 
is  general;  (2)  whether  they  induce  one  to  buy;  and  (3)  if 
they  do,  which  of  the  motives  given  above  have  been  used 
by  the  advertiser.  Frequently  more  than  one  motive  is 
used  in  one  advertisement. 

1.  For  a  delicatessen  store:  Good  things  to  eat. 

2.  For  a  chewing  gum:  The  taste  lasts. 

3.  For  a  motor  washer:  Two  cents  a  week  pays  your  wash- 
ing bill. 

4.  For  a  refrigerator:   Are  you  poisoning  your  family? 

5.  For  a  summer  drink:   It's  wet. 

6.  For  stockings:  Wear  like  60,  look  like  50,  cost  but  25. 

7.  For  a  shaving  soap:    Comfort  for  your  face,  economy  for 
your  purse. 

8.  For  a  liniment:  Don't  rub  —  it  penetrates. 

9.  For  a  hair  tonic:  What  does  your  mirror  say? 

10.  For  a  clothing  store:  Exclusive  styles  for  exclusive 
women. 

11.  For  an  inexpensive  scouring  powder:  Why  pour  money 
down  the  sink? 

12.  For  canned  goods:   When  company  comes. 

13.  For  a  varnish:  Water  won't  hurt  it. 

14.  For  bread:   The  human  hand  never  touches  it. 

15.  For  a  fountain  pen:  It  can't  leak. 

Exercise  283 

Bring  to  class  two  advertisements  containing  catch  phrases 
that  you  think  are  good.  To  which  of  the  motives  given 
above  does  each  appeal? 


ADVERTISING  313 

Exercise  284 

Bring  in  two  advertisements  of  articles  that  have  sug- 
gestive names.     What  is  the  value  of  a  suggestive  name? 

Exercise  285  —  Good  and  Bad  Headlines 

A  good  headline  has  the  following  qualities: 

First,  it  should  be  short.  Professor  Walter  Dill  Scott 
determined  by  experiments  that  the  average  person  can 
ordinarily  attend  to  only  about  four  visual  objects  at  the 
same  time  —  four  letters,  four  words,  four  simple  pictures, 
or  four  geometrical  figures.  As  the  headline  of  an  advertise- 
ment is  intended  to  be  taken  in  at  one  glance,  it  should, 
therefore,  be  not  longer  than  four  words  —  preferably  less, 
provided  the  interest  of  the  phrase  is  the  same.  Short  words, 
too,  can  be  taken  in  more  readily  than  long  words. 

Second,  the  best  headline  is  a  command.  People  in- 
stinctively obey  a  command,  unless  it  is  so  worded  that  they 
rebel  against  the  manner  of  expression. 

Third,  a  good  headline  is  suggestive.  It  touches  upon 
the  things  that  the  reader  is  thinking  about.  It  shows  that 
the  article  that  is  offered  for  sale  has  a  close  connection 
with  the  interests  that  absorb  the  reader's  mind.  It  is  a 
direct  answer  to  his  thoughts,  feelings,  hopes,  or  worries. 

The  following  headlines  were  taken  from  the  advertise- 
ments in  one  issue  of  a  magazine.  Judge  of  their  effective- 
ness, using  the  three  principles  given  above  as  a  basis  for 
your  decision: 

1.  Get  That  Job! 

2.  Foot  Comfort. 

3.  Ventilate,  but  Don't  Catch  Cold! 

4.  A  New  Filing  Cabinet. 

5.  Are  You  Open  to  Conviction? 

6.  Low  Priced  Envelope  Sealer. 

7.  Shave  for  ic  Without  Stropping. 

8.  What  a  Wonderful  Trip! 


314  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

9.   Save  30%  on  Your  Furniture. 

10.  You  Have  a  Right  to  Independence. 

11.  Just  Out! 

12.  Get  the  Dust  Out  of  Your  Home  —  It's  Dangerous. 

13.  The  Easiest  Riding  Car  in  the  World. 

14.  Our  Seeds  Grow. 

15.  That  Raise!  (Sub-heading  in  smaller  type:  What  Would 
a  Raise  in  Salary  Mean  to  You?) 

Exercise  286 

Some  advertisers  choose  headlines  merely  for  the  purpose 
of  attracting  attention,  forgetting  that  the  headHne  should 
suggest  what  the  following  illustration  and  text  explain. 
A  few  years  ago  a  well-known  automobile  company  ran  an 
advertisement  with  the  headline  $1000  Worth  of  Folly.  The 
headline  was  followed  by  a  picture  of  the  automobile.  The 
advertisement  was  intended  to  convey  the  idea  that,  as  this 
car  might  be  bought  for  $3000,  any  one  paying  $4000  for  an 
automobile  was  foolishly  squandering  $1000.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  only  suggestion  that  the  reader  got  from  the 
advertisement  was  that  any  one  who  paid  $1000  for  the 
illustrated  car  would  be  a  fool. 

1.  Bring  to  class  an  advertisement  in  which  the  headline  has 
no  connection  with  the  rest  of  the  advertisement,  being  used 
merely  to  catch  the  attention. 

2.  Find  an  advertisement  in  which  the  headline  suggests  the 
opposite  of  what  the  advertisement  is  intended  to  convey. 

3.  How  might  either  advertisement  be  improved? 

Exercise  287 

Still-life  advertisements  are  not  interesting.  The  picture 
of  a  furnace,  or  a  typewriter,  or  a  house  attracts  less  atten- 
tion than  the  same  objects  with  human  beings  represented 
moving  in  the  picture. 

Bring  to  class  two  advertisements  of  the  same  kind  of 
article,  in  one  of  which  a  still-life  illustration  is  used  and 
in  the  other  of  which  human  beings  are  used  to  center  the 
attention  upon  the  article  that  is  offered  for  sale. 


ADVERTISING  315 

Exercise  288 

Bring  to  class  (i)  an  advertisement  that  is  not  good  be- 
cause it  contains  too  much  —  lacks  a  center  upon  which  the 
attention  naturally  focuses;  and  (2)  an  advertisement  that 
is  good  because  it  has  a  definitely  defined  center  of  attraction. 

Exercise  289 

Bring  to  class  an  advertisement  in  which  the  principle  of 
balance  is  used  to  advantage,  two  illustrations,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  text,  being  used  to  convey  one  impression. 

Exercise  290 

In  writing  the  following,  try  to  embody  the  principles  that 
have  been  brought  out  in  previous  exercises: 

1.  An  entertainment  is  to  be  given  in  the  school  hall.  Write 
an  advertisement  to  appear  in  the  school  paper. 

2.  Write  an  announcement  of  the  same  entertainment  —  to 
be  posted  on  the  bulletin  board. 

3.  Write  an  advertisement  for  a  debate. 

4.  For  a  football,  baseball,  or  basket-ball  game. 
•      5.   For  an  inter-class  contest. 

6.  You  have  permission  to  secure  advertisements  to  be  printed 
in  the  program  of  the  entertainment  spoken  of  above.  Suppose 
that  you  are  to  write  the  copy  for  the  different  advertisements. 
Use  one-eighth,  one-quarter,  one-half,  or  one  page,  as  you  wish. 

Advertise  a  grocery. 

7.  A  meat  market. 

8.  A  dry  goods  store. 

9.  A  candy  store. 

10.  A  bakery. 

11.  A  bank. 

12.  A  tailor's  shop. 

13.  A  photographer's  studio. 

14.  A  barber  shop. 

15.  A  drug  store. 


3i6  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 


Exercise  291 

1.  Write  a  handbill  announcing  a  20%  discount  sale  to  run 
three  days  in  your  dry  goods  store. 

2.  Describe  a  chair,  table,  or  other  article  of  furniture  in  your 
own  home.  The  description  is  to  form  part  of  an  advertisement 
to  appear  in  a  mail  order  catalogue. 

3.  You  are  advertising  a  new  brand  of  coffee  in  the  street  car. 
Write  the  card.  Would  you  use  an  illustration?  If  so,  of  what 
kind? 

4.  As  in  (3)  advertise  a  new  brand  of  pork  and  beans. 

5.  As  in  (3)  advertise  a  shoe  sale. 

6.  Advertise  a  well-known  brand  of  soap  in  a  magazine.  Use 
your  own  idea.    Would  you  use  an  illustration? 

7.  How  would  you  advertise  an  automobile  which  has  proved 
its  merits?  Remember,  your  object  is  to  keep  the  name  before 
the  public.  How  would  you  advertise  a  new  make  of  automo- 
bile? How  much  space  would  you  use  in  either  case?  Write  both 
advertisements. 

8.  A  half-page  advertisement  by  the  Hudson  Cereal  Company, 
no  Hudson  St.,  New  York,  of  their  Nervo-Cereal  Coffee  con- 
tains the  item:  "Can  you  thread  a  needle,  holding  the  thread  one 
inch  from  the  end?  If  you  cannot,  you  are  nervous.  Is  coffee 
to  blame?  "  Exploit  the  aroma  and  flavor  of  the  cereal  coffee. 

9.  The  Central  Packing  Company  is  running  a  series  of  adver- 
tisements of  their  Premium  Extract  of  Beef.  This  one  is  to  appear 
just  before  Thanksgiving.  Entitle  it  ''Four  Delicious  Dishes 
for  the  Thanksgiving  Dinner,"  and  then  in  as  attractive  a  form  as 
possible  give  four  recipes,  making  a  point  of  the  necessity  of  using 
Premium  Extract  for  the  right  flavor.  At  the  end  sum  up  the 
merits  of  Premium  Extract  and  mention  the  silver  premiums 
given  with  the  certificates  under  the  metal  caps. 

10.  The  Bay  City  Mill  Co.,  Bay  City,  Mich.,  sells  fine  finished 
lumber  suitable  for  making  furniture  at  home.  Prepare  an  adver- 
tisement to  show  how  simple  it  is  to  make  tables  and  chairs  at 
home  with  their  plans  and  their  specially  cut  lumber.  Illustrate 
by  giving  the  plans  and  working  directions  for  making  a  useful 
table,  showing  how  easy  it  is  with  their  specially  cut  lumber.  Set 
an  attractive  price  on  the  lumber  necessary  to  make  this  table. 
Sum  up  by  exploiting  a  book  of  plans,  which  may  be  had  for  the 
asking. 


ADVERTISING  317 

Exercise  292 

The  following  paragraph  is  taken  from  Professor  Scott's 
Theory  of  Advertising.  What  is  the  subject  of  the  paragraph? 
Is  there  a  topic  sentence?  By  what  plan  is  the  paragraph 
developed? 

Many  of  those  who  use  illustrations  for  their  advertisements 
follow  the  philosophy  of  the  Irish  boy  who  said  that  he  liked  to 
stub  his  toe  because  it  felt  so  good  when  it  stopped  hurting.  Many 
of  us  are  unable  to  see  how  the  boy  had  made  any  gain  after  it 
was  all  over,  but  he  was  satisfied,  and  that  was  sufficient.  The 
philosophic  disciples  of  the  Irish  boy  are  found  in  advertisers  who 
have  certain  things  to  dispose  of  which  will  not  do  certain  harmful 
things.  First  they  choose  an  illustration  which  will  make  you 
believe  that  what  they  have  to  sell  is  just  what  you  do  not  want, 
and  then  in  the  text  they  try  to  overcome  this  false  impression 
and  to  show  you  that  what  they  have  to  offer  is  not  so  bad  after 
all.  Most  of  us  are  unable  to  see  how  the  advertiser  has  gained, 
even  if  he  has  succeeded  in  giving  us  logical  proof  that  his  goods 
are  not  so  bad  as  we  were  at  first  led  to  think.  We  are  not  logic- 
ally inclined,  and  we  take  the  illustration  and  the  text,  and  we 
combine  the  two.  The  best  that  the  text  can  do  is  to  destroy 
the  evil  effect  of  the  illustration.  Of  course,  when  we  read  in 
the  text  that  the  illustration  does  not  correctly  represent  the 
goods,  we  ought  to  discard  the  illustration  entirely  and  think 
only  of  the  text,  but,  unfortunately,  we  are  not  constructed  in 
that  way.  The  impression  made  by  the  illustration  and  that 
made  by  the  text  fuse  and  form  a  whole  which  is  the  result  formed 
by  these  two  elements. 

Write  paragraphs  on  each  of  the  following: 

1.  Advertising  is  essential  in  modern  business. 

2.  Advertising  helps  the  housewife  economize. 

3.  The  study  of  advertisements  saves  the  shopper's  time  and 
strength. 

4.  Advertised  goods  cost  more  than  the  unadvertised  brands. 
(Give  the  reasons.) 

5.  Trade-marked  and  advertised  goods  have  increased  the 
cost  of  living. 

6.  Increased  advertising  causes  the  styles  to  change  quickly. 


3i8  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

7.  Every  advertisement  must  catch  and  hold  the  attention. 
Some  accompHsh  this  object  by  causing  a  laugh.  (Describe  one 
such.) 

8.  Some    advertisements   hold    the    attention    because    they 

appeal  to  our  love  of  the  mysterious.    One  such  is (describe 

it). 

9.  Some  advertisements  succeed  because  of  their  clever  color 
scheme. 

10.  Every   successful   advertisement    contains    a     convincing 
argument. 

11.  Mouth  to  mouth  advertising  is  the  best  and  the  cheapest. 

12.  Advertised  goods  are  better  because  they  have  to  be. 

13.  The  consumer  pays  for  all  the  advertising. 

14.  The  cost  of  advertising  is  paid  by  the  competitors  who  do 
not  advertise. 

15.  Advertising  tends  to  create  uniform  prices. 

16.  The  advertising  expert  is  a  student  of  men. 

Exercise  293 

Give  your  opinion  as  to  the  effectiveness  of  the  following 
advertisements: 


A  department  store  that  was  anxious  to  increase  its  trade  on 
Mondays  and  Wednesdays  included  the  following  coupons  in 
its  circular  advertisement  one  week: 

THIS  COUPON  AND   19c  THIS  COUPON  AND  50c 

Monday  only  Wednesday  only 

good  for  ggod  for 

6  Spools  J.  6*  P.  Coats*  Misses'  or  Children's 

Best  6  Cord  Machine  White  Canvas  Pumps 

Thread  2  strap  model,  heavy  or  light  soles, 

Regular  30c  value         *  trimmed    with    dainty    bow    on 

vamp.    All  sizes  up  to  2. 
$1.50  value 

2 

$10,000  IN  Cash  to  Charity 

We  ask  our  customers  to  decide  by  their  votes  the  250  insti- 
tutions who  shall  receive  this  amount.  Each  ten  cents'  worth 
purchased  entitles  the  purchaser  to  one  vote. 


ADVERTISING  319 

3 

The  following  appeared  in  the  center  of  a  page  otherwise  blank. 

On  the  opposite  page  appeared  the  advertisement  of  a  well-known 

article. 

The  announcement  on  the 
following  page  is  so  im- 
portant that  we  have  de- 
cided to  leave  this  page 
blank. 

4 

The  following  was  part  of  a  circular: 

Following  our  annual  custom  we  will  again  this  year  give  away 
absolutely  free  a  beautiful  silk  flag  to  every  customer  making  a 
purchase  of  $1  or  over,  Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  July  2  and  3. 

5 
The  following  appeared  in  a  newspaper: 

A  Word  of  Appreciation 

We  have  now  been  in  our  new  location  somewhat  over  a  month. 
Our  business  has  been  all  that  we  expected;  in  some  departments, 
indeed,  there  is  an  increase,  notably  in  the  neckwear,  ready-to- 
wear  clothes,  hats,  and  tailoring  departments. 

Naturally,  we  had  an  abundance  of  faith  in  our  new  location; 
nevertheless,  we  must  confess  that  there  were  times  when  we  had 
anxious  moments.  We  discovered,  however,  that  our  moving 
was  at  the  "psychological  moment";  we  soon  learned  that  in  the 
minds  of  the  people  there  was  but  one  thought  —  success  for 
Michigan  Avenue. 

We  have  always  felt  that  there  was  a  closer  bond  of  sympathy 
between  our  customers  and  us  than  is  usually  the  case  between 
buyer  and  seller.  The  unusual  interest  taken  in  our  new  store 
and  in  our  success  has  more  than  confirmed  us  in  this  impression. 
Our  experience  during  the  last  forty  days  has  really  made  life 
worth  living. 

The  minds  of  hundreds  of  our  customers  have  reverted  to  the 
beginning  of  our  business  in  our  old  Dearborn  Street  store, 
twenty  years  ago,  and  they  have  made  comparisons  between  that 
and  the  wonderful  establishment  we  now  possess;  they  have  done 
it  in  a  way  that  would  almost  suggest  that  it  was  their  business 


320  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

that  they  were  talking  of  rather  than  ours.  It  made  us  feel  that, 
although  we  have  made  our  mistakes,  nevertheless  we  must  have 
served  the  public  well,  and  we  insert  this  article  in  the  hope  that 
a  few  of  our  well-wishers  may  read  it  and  understand  that  we 
appreciate  and  are  grateful. 

Exercise  294 

Books  that  will  Suggest  Topics  for  Talks 

Balmer,  Edwin,  The  Science  of  Advertising. 

Bellamy,  Francis  (ed).  Effective  Magazine  Advertising. 

Bridgewater,  Howard,  Advertising,  or  The  Art  of  Making  Known. 

Calkins,  E.  E.  and  Holden,  R.,  Modern  Advertising. 

Cherington,  Paul  T.,  Advertising  as  a  Business  Force. 

Deland,  L.  F.,  Imagination  in  Business. 

De  Weese,  Truman  A.,  Advertising  (The  Business  Man^s  Library, 

Vol.  vii). 
Edgar,  Albert  E.,  How  to  Advertise  a  Retail  Store. 
Fowler,  N.  C,  Building  Business. 
Scott,  W.  D.,  The  Theory  of  Advertising. 


CHAPTER  XrX 
REAL  ESTATE  AND  INSURANCE 

Lands,  buildings,  and  houses  are  called  real  property  or  real 
estate,  and  the  business  pertaining  to  them,  the  real  estate 
business.  Every  one  of  us  has  more  or  less  to  do  with  this 
business.  If  we  do  not  own  property,  we  pay  rent.  Rent 
is  the  money  paid  for  the  use  of  a  piece  of  land,  or  a  building, 
or  part  of  a  building,  and  is  usually  paid  at  certain  stated 
intervals  of  time  —  monthly,  for  example.  The  owner  of 
the  building  is  called  the  landlord;  the  one  who  rents,  the 
tenant.  Sometimes  there  is  no  condition  as  to  how  long 
a  tenant  shall  remain  in  one  place  and  pay  rent,  but,  as  a 
rule,  the  landlord  requires  the  tenant  to  sign  a  lease.  This 
is  a  contract  between  the  landlord  and  the  tenant,  stating 
that  in  consideration  of  the  landlord's  furnishing  the  tenant 
a  place  in  which  to  live  with  certain  conveniences  —  such 
as  heat,  hot  water,  and  other  services  —  the  tenant  agrees 
to  pay  rent  for  a  certain  length  of  time,  usually  a  year  or 
more.  If  the  tenant  moves  out  before  his  lease  expires  and 
refuses  to  pay  the  rent,  he  breaks  the  contract  and,  as  is 
usually  the  case  when  a  contract  is  broken,  a  lawsuit  may 
follow.  In  large  cities  where  land  is  in  some  places  very 
valuable,  owners  may  not  care  to  sell  the  property  on  which 
others  wish  to  build,  but  lease  it  to  the  builders  for  a  certain 
term  of  years,  usually  ninety-nine  years. 

Suppose  you  no  longer  wish  to  pay  rent,  but  to  own  the 
house  in  which  you  live.  If  you  buy  a  piece  of  property 
from  John  Smith  and  pay  him  your  money  for  it,  you  wish 
to  be  assured  that  after  a  few  months  John  Smith  will  not 


322  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

come  to  you  and  claim  the  property  as  his.  To  protect 
you  John  Smith  gives  you  a  deed  to  the  property.  A  deed  is 
a  contract  between  the  buyer  and  the  seller  of  the  property. 
It  states  that,  in  consideration  of  the  buyer's  paying  a  cer- 
tain stipulated  sum  of  money,  the  seller  releases  and  conveys 
the  property  to  the  buyer.  This  deed  shows  that  you  now 
own  the  property.  At  the  same  time  you  should  receive  a 
clear  title  to  the  property;  that  is,  you  wish  to  be  sure  that 
no  one  else  has  a  claim  on  the  property.  If  John  Smith 
guarantees  that  the  title  is  clear,  he  gives  you  a  warranty 
deed  for  the  property,  in  which  he  will  "warrant  and  defend 
the  same  against  all  lawful  claims  whatsoever.''  If,  how- 
ever, he  simply  turns  over  the  property  to  you  as  it  stands, 
he  gives  you  a  quitclaim  deed,  in  which "  he  relinquishes  or 
quits  all  his  interest  in  it.  If  you  have  no  debts  on  the 
property,  you  own  it  in  fee  simple. 

Very  often  in  buying  property,  the  purchaser  pays  only 
a  part  of  the  purchase  price  himself,  paying  for  the  balance 
by  borrowing  the  necessary  amount  from  a  third  party. 
For  example,  if  the  house  you  bought  from  John  Smith  cost 
$6,000  and  you  had  only  $4,000,  you  would  be  forced  to 
borrow  the  other  $2,000  to  pay  John  Smith.  You  would 
then  go  to  your  bank  or  to  some  person  who  had  money  to 
invest  and  would  borrow  the  required  amount,  and  to 
guarantee  that  you  would  pay  the  money  back,  you  would 
give  a  mortgage  on  the  property.  A  mortgage  is  a  contract 
which  states  that,  in  consideration  of  one  party  giving  the 
second  party  a  certain  sum  of  money,  the  second  party 
agrees  to  pay  interest  on  that  money  at  a  stipulated  rate, 
and  at  the  end  of  a  certain  length  of  time  agrees  to  pay  the 
money  back;  and  that,  in  case  the  second  party  does  not 
pay  back  the  amount  at  the  end  of  the  time,  the  first  party 
is  empowered  to  take  possession  of  the  property,  to  sell  it, 
and  to  get  the  amount  due  him.  This  last  procedure  is 
called  foreclosing  the  mortgage.    It  is  a  common  practice  to 


REAL  ESTATE  AND  INSURANCE  323 

mortgage  property;    almost  all  the  property  in  a  city  is 
mortgaged. 

Some  men  and  firms  make  a  special  business  of  transferring 
property,  buying  and  selling  it  for  others,  making  leases, 
and  collecting  rents.  They  are  called  real  estate  agents,- 
and  for  their  services  get  a  commission,  which  is  a  certain 
percentage  of  the  purchase  or  the  selling  price  and  a  certain 
percentage  of  the  amount  of  rent  collected.  This  percent- 
age varies  according  to  whether  the  amount  of  money 
involved  is  large  or  small,  the  percentage  being  larger  when 
small  sums  of  money  are  involved  than  when  large  sums 
are  involved. 

Exercise  295 

Oral 

1.  What  is  a  lease? 

2.  Explain  why  owners  of  valuable  property  lease  it. 

3.  What  is  a  deed?    Explain  the  two  kinds. 

4.  What  is  meant  by  a  clear  title? 

5.  What  is  meant  by  fee  simple? 

6.  Why  is  it  important  to  be  careful  about  the  title? 

7.  What  is  a  mortgage? 

8.  Explain  why  property  is  often  mortgaged.    Does  the  mort- 
gage benefit  the  owner?     Explain. 

9.  What  is  meant  by  foreclosing? 

10.  What  is  an  agent?    How  is  he  usually  paid? 

11.  Why  do  people  employ  real  estate  agents  to  take  care  of 
renting?    To  sell  their  property? 

12.  Why  is  property  near  a  railroad  valuable?    For  what? 

13.  Why  is  a  corner  lot  worth  more  than  an  inside  lot? 

14.  Why  is  property  on  a  car  line  more  valuable  than  on  a  side 
street? 

15.  What  effect  would  the  building  of  a  new  street  car  line 
have  on  the  value  of  adjacent  property?    Why  ? 

Exercise  296 

Oral 
I.   Suppose  that  you  are  a  landlord  and  that  in  your  lease  no 
mention  is  made  of  giving  your  tenants  janitor  service,  but  you 


324  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

yourself  take  care  of  the  furnace.  Other  landlords  in  the  block 
supply  janitor  service.  After  one  of  your  tenants  has  moved  in, 
he  demands  that  the  back  porch  be  scrubbed  once  a  week  and 
the  garbage  emptied  daily.  What  would  you  do?  Consider  the 
points  for  and  against. 

2.  Suppose  some  boys  playing  ball  on  the  street  break  a  plate 
glass  window  in  the  store  you  own.  Would  you  expect  your 
tenant  to  pay  for  repairs? 

Written 

3.  Write  to  Francis  L.  Russell,  a  real  estate  agent,  asking  his 

terms  for  collecting  the  rent  of (tell  the  location  of  the 

house,  the  number  of  the  tenants,  and  the  rent  you  receive). 

4.  As  if  you  were  Francis  L.  Russell  write  a  reply,  saying  that 
you  will  undertake  the  collection  for  a  commission  of  5%. 

5.  Imagine  you  are  a  tenant  in  the  same  building.  The 
kitchen  sink  cannot  be  used  in  your  fiat  because  of  a  stoppage 
in  the  plumbing.  You  have  told  the  agent  once.  Write  him 
(see  3)  again,  stating  that  unless  he  sends  a  plumber  you  will  not 
pay  your  next  month's  rent.  (Is  there  any  reason  for  writing 
this,  rather  than  telephoning  it?) 

6.  The  plumber  has  submitted  a  bill  of  $5.98  for  the  repairs 
suggested  in  (5).  The  agent  writes  to  the  landlord,  enclosing  a 
check  for  the  rent  that  he  has  collected,  less  the  amount  of  the 
plumber's  bill  and  his  commission. 

7.  You  are  a  lawyer.  Write  to  the  landlord,  informing  him 
that  the  mortgage  which  his  client  holds  against  the  landlord's 
property  expires  in  thirty  days.  Ask  the  landlord  whether  he 
expects  to  pay  the  money  or  whether  he  wishes  a  renewal  of  the 
loan  for  three  years.     Your  client  is  willing  to  give  such  a  renewal. 

8.  The  landlord  replies  that  he  is  enclosing  $100  to  pay  the 
interest  due  on  the  mortgage  and  that  he  desires  a  renewal  of  the 
loan.  If  the  lawyer  will  prepare  the  papers,  he  will  come  to  sign 
them  at  the  specified  time.     Write  the  letter. 

9.  You  are  an  insurance  agent.  Write  to  the  landlord  that 
the  fire  insurance  on  his  property  expires  in  sixty  days.  Ask  him 
to  allow  you  to  write  a  new  policy.  Inform  him  that  the  rate 
now  will  be  3!  %  instead  of  if  %  as  it  was  formerly,  because  a 
garage  has  been  erected  one  door  north  of  his  property.  (Why 
should  the  rate  be  higher?) 

10.   One  of  the  tenants  has  paid  no  rent  for  two  months.    You 
decide  that  he  never  will  be  able  to  pay.    As  landlord  you  make 


REAL  ESTATE  AND  INSURANCE  325 

out  and  deliver  to  him  a  Five  days^  notice  of  removal.  At  the  same 
time,  you  write  a  letter  to  your  lawyer,  explaining  the  state  of 
affairs  and  asking  him  to  take  charge  of  enforcing  the  notice. 
(This  means  that  if  the  tenant  does  not  move,  the  case  must  come 
up  in  court.  If  it  is  decided  in  the  landlord's  favor,  the  tenant 
must  move.  If  he  refuses,  the  lawyer  engages  a  constable  to  eject 
him.)     Write  the  letter. 

11.  Francis  L.  Russell  writes  three  short  advertisements,  offer- 
ing for  sale  (i)  a  large  12  room  residence,  mortgage  $6,000,  price 
$15,000;  (2)  a  3  apartment  building,  clear,  price  $16,000;  (3)  a 
large  12  apartment  building,  mortgage  $25,000,  price  $41,000,  terms 
to  suit.     Where  would  you  advertise?     Write  the  advertisements. 

12.  You  get  inquiries  about  all  of  the  above.  Write  answers 
describing  the  buildings  more  fully,  and  make  appointments  with 
the  writers  to  inspect  the  property. 

13.  A  man  is  interested  in  the  12  flat  building,  but  he  has  only 
$10,000.  Offer  him  the  property  for  $40,000  on  these  terms: 
$10,000  down,  a  first  mortgage  for  $20,000  to  run  10  years  at  5%, 
and  a  second  mortgage  for  $10,000  to  run  5  years  at  5!%,  $2,000 
to  be  paid  each  year  with  interest.  Make  it  as  attractive  as 
possible.    Tell  him  you  will  arrange  for  the  mortgages. 

14.  {a)  Write  to  your  bank,  the  First  National,  and  explain 
that,  although  the  first  mortgage  on  the  12  flat  building  for  $25,000 
still  has  3  years  to  run,  you  would  like  to  arrange  for  a  10  year 
mortgage  for  $20,000,  if  your  prospective  buyer  takes  the  property. 
{h)  Write  to  George  R.  Scott,  who  owns  the  building,  offering  him 
the  second  mortgage.  Explain  that  although  it  is  a  second  mort- 
gage the  fact  that  $2,000  of  the  principal  is  paid  each  year  makes 
it  attractive.  (How  would  the  owner  benefit  if  the  buyer  failed 
to  make  his  payments  after  2  years?)  Sign  yourself  Francis  L. 
Russell. 

15.  You  have  put  through  the  deal.  Write  to  the  new  owner, 
offering  to  take  care  of  the  renting  for  a  commission  equal  to  2|% 
of  the  amount  collected. 

Exercise  297  —  Farm  Lands 

I.  You  own  a  large  tract  of  land  in  the  South,  West,  or 
Southwest.  Choose  your  own  locality.  Prepare  a  pamphlet 
setting  forth  the  advantages  of  this  particular  spot  in  a 
series  of  paragraphs:  (i)  scenery,   (2)  climate  and  health- 


326  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

fulness,  (3)  crops,  (4)  profits  from  the  crops,  (5)  price  of 
labor,  (6)  chances  for  pleasure,  e.g.,  hunting,  fishing,  etc., 
(7)  transportation  facilities,  (8)  price  of  the  land.  Use  a 
firm  name  and  address. 

2.  Arrange  and  punctuate: 

Nov.  I,  19- [For  the  introduction  supply  the  same  firm  name 
used  in  (i)^.  Gentlemen  I  have  just  returned  from  an  extended 
trip  through  (the  district  spoken  of  above)  with  reference  to  the 
forty  acres  I  purchased  from  you  I  desire  to  say  that  I  am  con- 
vinced that  it  will  prove  a  paying  investment  I  am  so  pleased  that 
I  shall  certainly  try  to  induce  several  of  my  friends  to  purchase 
near  my  site  while  on  the  property  I  carefully  inspected  the  farm 
worked  by  Mr  S  R  Jackson  I  must  say  what  he  is  accomplishing 
the  immense  crop  of  vegetables  and  fruit  he  is  marketing  amazed 
me  no  doubt  what  he  is  doing  I  may  do  for  I  made  sure  by  careful 
examination  that  the  soil  on  my  land  is  exactly  like  his  you  may 
depend  upon  it  that  within  the  next  two  months  I  shall  move  my 
family  upon  the  land  for  I  am  eager  to  develop  it  sincerely  yours 
F  W  FarreU 

What  advantage  would  there  be  in  including  such  a  letter 
as  (2)  in  the  booklet  spoken  of  in  (i)? 

3.  To  prove  the  possibilities  of  the  land  spoken  of  in  (i), 
you  intend  to  start  a  model  farm.  Advertise  for  a  farmer. 
Your  plan  is  to  give  him  60  acres  to  develop  for  himself,  in 
return  for  which  he  shall  demonstrate  the  possibilities  of 
the  land. 

4.  Write  a  letter  applying  for  the  position.  You  must 
have  farming  experience,  some  money,  a  knowledge  of  crops, 
and  a  good  deal  of  enthusiasm. 

5.  Write  an  advertisement  of  your  land  for  a  big  news- 
paper. Exploit  its  most  striking  features,  especially  the 
price.  Study  such  advertisements  before  you  write 
yours. 

6.  Reproduce  a  letter  you  received  in  answer  to  (5), 
asking  for  more  information  concerning  the  lands. 

7.  Write  the  reply  to  (6).    Say  you   are   enclosing   the 


REAL  ESTATE  AND  INSURANCE  327 

booklet  spoken  of  in  (i);  tell  of  the  model  farm  being  es- 
tablished (3) ;  and  induce  the  inquirer  to  become  a  purchaser. 
8.  Prepare  a  series  of  three  follow-up  letters  to  be  sent  out 
to  prospective  purchasers  who  write  as  in  (6)  but  who  do 
not  answer  your  letter  in  (7).  Make  each  letter  set  forth 
one  of  the  following  advantages  of  buying  a  piece  of  your 
land:  (i)  The  profits  from  the  crops  are  large;  (2)  The 
conditions  are  ideal  —  mention  climate,  water,  neighbors, 
transportation;  (3)  It  is  a  good  investment,  since  the  land 
will  certainly  rise  in  value  —  tell  of  other  land  in  the  neigh- 
borhood that  has  risen  in  value  within  the  last  year.  Arrange 
the  letters  in  the  order  that  you  think  will  be  most  effective. 

Exercise  298 
Topics  for  Investigation  and  Discussion 

1.  The  cause  of  changes  in  city  real  estate  values. 

2.  The  price  of  downtown  property  in  your  town. 

3.  The  rise  in  property  values  in  the  last  few  years. 

4.  The  causes  of  the  rise. 

5.  Stove  heated  or  steam  heated  property  —  which  is  the 
better  income  producer? 

6.  The  Mortgage.  —  (a)  Why  people  mortgage  their  property; 
(b)  Why  people  loan  money  on  mortgages. 

7.  The  increase  in  the  total  value  of  farm  lands  during  the 
last  ten  years. 

8.  The  decrease  in  the  value  of  farm  lands  in  the  East. 

9.  The  reasons  for  the  growth  of  the  West. 

10.  Will  the  South  be  a  new  West? 

11.  The  reclamation  of  swamp  lands. 

12.  The  success  of  irrigation. 

Exercise  299  —  Insurance 

An  exposition  of  the  subject  of  insurance  is  hardly  in  place 
here,  especially  as  every  one,  to  a  certain  extent  at  least,  is 
acquainted  with  the  fundamental  reasons  why  insurance  is 
purchased.  The  questions  below  should  be  used  as  a  rudi- 
mentary review  that  will  prepare  for  the  letters  that  follow. 


328  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 


Oral 

1.  What  is  the  object  of  insurance? 

2.  What  is  meant  by  a  policy? 

3.  By  the  premium? 

4.  By  the  beneficiary? 

5.  By  life  insurance? 

6.  By  fire  insurance? 

7.  By  accident  insurance? 

8.  By  marine  insurance? 

9.  What  is  the  difference  between  a  straight  life  and  a  20  year 
endowment  policy? 

10.  Between  the  above  and  a  20  year  pay  policy? 

11.  Between  the  above  and  a  term  policy? 

12.  Why  is  it  that  the  mortgagee,  and  not  the  owner,  holds 
the  fire  insurance  policy?  Why  must  the  amount  of  insurance 
equal  or  exceed  the  amount  of  the  mortgage? 

Written 

1.  You  are  an  insurance  agent.  A  man  came  to  your  oflSce 
to-day  to  inquire  about  a  life  insurance  policy.  Write  him  a  letter, 
repeating  what  you  told  him,  advocating  his  taking  out  a  straight 
life  policy. 

2.  A  new  building  has  just  been  erected  in  your  neighborhood. 
Write  to  the  owner,  soliciting  him  to  let  you  write  the  fire  insur- 
ance policy. 

3.  Write  to  a  man  who  rides  downtown  on  the  train  every 
day.  Convince  him  that  he  needs  to  take  out  an  accident  insur- 
ance policy.  Point  out  that  the  premium  is  only  $25  a  year.  If 
the  man  is  injured  he  will  receive  $25  weekly;  if  he  is  killed  by 
accident,  his  beneficiary  will  receive  $5,000;  if  he  is  killed  on  a 
train  or  in  an  elevator,  $10,000. 

4.  Write  to  one  of  your  clients,  informing  him  that  the  premium 
on  his  life  insurance  policy  falls  due  in  ten  days. 

5.  Write  to  another  of  your  clients,  informing  him  that  the 
insurance  on  his  property  runs  out  in  ten  days.  Inform  him  that, 
if  he  wishes  the  policy  renewed,  he  should  let  you  know  at  once 
and  remit  the  premium. 

6.  From  the  client  mentioned  in  (5)  you  receive  a  letter  in 
which  he  explains  that  the  paint  store  which  formerly  adjoined 
his  property  has  been  replaced  by  a  grocery.    He  would  like  a 


REAL  ESTATE  AND  INSURANCE  329 

new  policy  at  a  lower  rate.  Reproduce  the  letter.  A  paint  store 
is  insured  at  the  highest,  or  hazard,  rate.  The  rate  on  property 
adjoining  a  paint  store  would  also  be  very  high. 

7.  You  investigate  the  matter  and  find  that  the  facts  are  as 
stated  in  (6).  Write  youir  client,  offering  him  a  rate  of  i^%  and 
enclosing  a  bill  for  $45. 

8.  He  repHes  that,  since  the  risk  of  fire  is  now  so  much  less, 
he  wishes  to  take  only  $2,000  worth  of  insurance.  He  asks  you  to 
write  such  a  policy,  and  he  encloses  his  check  for  $30.  Write  the 
letter. 

9.  A  man  writes  to  you,  saying  that  he  wishes  to  take  out  an 
endowment  policy  for  his  fifteen  year  old  daughter,  who  has 
already  been  examined.  He  wishes  to  give  the  insurance  to  her 
as  a  birthday  present.  He  encloses  a  check  for  the  premium  and 
asks  you  to  send  the  contract  to  her  on  her  birthday  (Name  the 
date).    Write  the  father's  letter. 

10.   Write  a  letter  to  accompany  the  birthday  present.    Re- 
member you  do  not  know  the  daughter. 

Exercise  300 
Write  the  following  from  dictation : 


Must  Reform  our  Farming 

The  average  yield  of  wheat  in  the  United  States  for  the  five 
years  ending  in  19 10  was  eight-tenths  of  a  bushel  per  acre  more 
than  in  the  five  years  ending  in  1905,  but  it  was  less  than  four-tenths 
of  a  bushel  more  than  for  the  ten  ending  in  1900.  The  average 
corn  product  for  the  ten  years  ending  in  19 10  was  a  little  less  than 
for  the  ten  years  ending  in  1875.  Thirty-five  years  had  not  ad- 
vanced us  a  step.  European  countries  —  Great  Britain,  France, 
Germany  —  with  inferior  soils  and  less  favorable  climate  produce 
crops  practically  double  our  own.  In  our  studies  of  conservation 
we  find  no  waste  comparable,  either  in  magnitude  or  importance, 
to  this.  The  farm  will  fail,  and  the  foundations  of  our  prosperity 
be  undermined,  unless  agriculture  is  reformed.  The  percentage 
of  our  people  actively  engaged  in  farming  had  fallen  from  47.36 
in  1870  to  an  estimated  32  in  1910.  Every  man  on  the  farm  to-day 
must  produce  food  for  two  mouths  against  one  forty  years  ago. 

—  J,  J.Hill. 


330  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 


The  Farming  Specials 

One  of  the  latest  and  most  successful  activities  of  the  railroads 
is  the  practice  of  carrying  knowledge  of  the  best  farming  methods 
to  the  farmers  by  means  of  special  trains  equipped  like  agricultural 
colleges.  These  trains,  bearing  experts  and  all  the  equipment 
for  exhibiting  the  new  methods  of  agriculture,  bring  the  knowledge 
to  the  farmers  free,  and  the  railroads  are  glad  to  give  it,  for  every 
bit  of  knowledge  comes  back  to  them  in  a  hundred  fold  profit  in 
freight.  In  the  summer  eager  audiences  all  over  the  country 
listen  to  the  preaching  of  better  methods  and  larger  crops.  Dozens 
of  special  trains  travel  through  the  agricultural  regions  dissemi- 
nating information.  The  "  Breakfast  Bacon  Special "  has  been  run 
to  encourage  Iowa  farmers  to  raise  more  hogs  to  take  advantage 
of  the  high  price  of  bacon.  The  Cotton  Belt  Route  southwest 
of  St.  Louis  runs  the  ''Squealer  Special"  to  prove  to  the  Arkansas 
and  Panhandle  farmers  the  money-making  advantages  of  blooded 
hogs  over  the  razor-back  variety.  Down  the  Mississippi  Valley 
the  Illinois  Central  sends  the  "Boll  Weevil  Special"  to  conduct 
a  campaign  against  that  pest.  The  Harriman  lines  have  six 
trains  operating  in  California  every  year.  In  one  year  they  visited 
more  than  seventy-five  thousand  people.  Better  farming  specials 
run  in  practically  every  state  south  of  the  Ohio  and  Potomac  and 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  The  New  York  Central  also  has  two 
trains  in  operation  in  New  York.  —  The  Business  Almanac, 


A  large  proportion  of  farmers  give  little  or  no  attention  to  the 
selection  of  seed;  yet  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  a  careful 
selection  would  add  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  to  the  total 
value  of  the  crops.  If,  for  example,  a  variety  of  wheat  were 
developed  capable  of  producing  one  more  kernel  to  the  head,  it 
would  mean  an  addition,  so  Burbank  says,  of  15,000,000  bushels 
to  our  average  wheat  crop.  It  is  possible,  however,  to  do  even 
more  than  this.  At  the  Minnesota  station  a  variety,  selected  for 
ten  years  according  to  a  definite  principle,  yielded  twenty-five 
per  cent  more  than  the  parent  variety.  Applied  to  our  average 
crop,  that  increase  would  amount  to  185,000,000  bushels,  worth 
about  $140,000,000.    As  for  com,  it  has  been  officially  stated  that 


REAL  ESTATE  AND  INSURANCE  331 

our  average  yield  could  easily  be  doubled.  After  exhaustive  exper- 
iments the  Department  of  Agriculture  says  that  by  merely  testing 
individual  ears  of  seed  corn  and  rejecting  those  of  low  vitality  an 
average  yield  of  nearly  fourteen  per  cent  could  be  secured,  adding 
about  $200,000,000  to  the  value  of  the  crop.  Does  scientific  seed 
selection  seem  worth  while?  —  The  Wall  Street  Journal, 


CHAPTER  XX 
BANKING 

Imagine  that  you  are  a  druggist  in  a  small  town.  Sup- 
pose that  a  woman  comes  in  to  buy  two  ounces  of  camphor 
and  in  exchange  gives  you  three  eggs.  In  a  few  moments, 
perhaps,  a  man  enters  to  buy  a  safety  razor  and  brings  with 
him  wheat  enough  to  pay  the  bill.  Another,  again,  wishes 
to  trade  a  turkey  for  a  fountain  pen.  You  can  readily  see 
the  inconvenience  to  which  you  would  be  put  in  such  ex- 
change of  actual  commodities;  yet  this  was  the  method  used 
in  primitive  times,  a  method  called  barter. 

To  overcome  the  inconvenience  of  barter,  as  civilization 
advanced,  it  became  necessary  to  establish  a  common 
medium  of  exchange,  which  could  be  accepted  for  anything 
one  had  to  sell  and  with  which  one  could  buy  anything  he 
wished.  This  is  what  we  call  money.  To  meet  the  require- 
ments, money  must  not  be  bulky,  must  be  durable,  and  must 
not  readily  change  in  value.  In  civilized  countries  gold  and 
silver  are  the  bases  of  exchange. 

But  gold  and  silver  are  heavy  and  inconvenient  to  carry 
about  in  large,  or  for  that  matter  in  small,  quantities,  and 
for  convenience  the  following  kinds  of  paper  money  have 
been  established: 

1.  Gold  Certificates  are  issued  with  the  government's  guar- 
antee that  there  is  gold  deposited  in  the  Treasury  equal  to 
the  amount  of  the  face  of  the  bill.  At  any  time  the  one  hold- 
ing such  a  bill  may  demand  of  the  Treasury  that  he  receive 
gold  for  it. 

2.  Silver  Certificates  are  similar  to  gold  certificates,  except 
that  silver  is  deposited  in  the  Treasury  instead  of  gold. 


BANKING  333 

3.  United  States  Treasury  Notes  are  promissory  notes  of 
the  government  to  pay  the  sum  indicated.  They  are  not 
payable  on  demand. 

4.  National  Bank  Notes  are  promissory  notes  issued  by  the 
national  banks  and  are  payable  on  demand  of  the  bearer. 
Before  a  national  bank  may  issue  such  notes,  it  must  own 
United  States  government  bonds  of  at  least  the  amount  for 
which  it  issues  notes.  These  bonds  are  held  by  the  Treas- 
urer of  the  United  States  as  security  that  the  bank  will  pay 
its  notes.  According  to  the  Owen  Glass  Bill,  passed  in 
December  of  1913,  national  bank  notes  may  at  the  option 
of  the  banks  be  gradually  withdrawn  from  circulation. 

Credit 

Credit  is  a  promise  to  pay  at  some  future  time  for  a  thing 
which  you  receive  now.  Its  use  is  probably  as  old  as  the 
practice  of  exchange  and  quite  as  important.  The  simplest 
and  most  extensive  form  of  credit  is  "book"  credit,  such  as 
you  get  at  the  grocer's  or  butcher's  or  at  the  department 
store.  To  explain  a  little  more  complex  kind  of  credit: 
Suppose  you  owe  Smith  one  hundred  dollars.  At  the  same 
time  Smith  owes  Jones  one  hundred  dollars.  Because  you 
owe  Smith,  he  may  give  Jones  an  order  to  collect  the  money 
from  you.  With  this  order  Jones  may  pay  his  lawyer,  let 
us  say.  Perhaps  the  lawyer  has  bought  a  bill  of  goods  from 
you.  He  pays  you  with  the  same  order.  You  destroy  the 
"note,"  and  thus  four  actual  transactions  have  been  taken 
care  of  without  the  use  of  any  money.  The  business  insti- 
tution which  deals  especially  with  credits  is  the  bank. 

Banks 

A  bank  which  fulfills  every  banking  function  must  have 
these  three  departments:  (i)  the  commercial  department, 
(2)  the  savings  department,  (3)  the  trust  department.  Some 
institutions  specialize  in  one  department  more  than  in  either 


334 


BUSINESS  PRACTICE 


of  the  others,  and  thus,  taking  the  name  from  their  prin- 
cipal function,  banks  are  known  as  follows:  (i)  commercial 
banks  or  banks  of  deposit,  (2)  savings  banks,  (3)  trust 
companies. 

Banks  of  Deposit 

Banks  of  deposit  or  commercial  banks  are  business  men's 
banks.  Their  two  principal  functions  are  (i)  receiving  money 
for  safe-keeping  on  deposit,  and  (2)  loaning  money  to  busi- 
ness men  at  interest.  The  deposit  function  is  based  on 
confidence  and  credit.  The  business  man  takes  his  money  to 
the  bank  not  only  because  it  is  convenient  for  him  to  do  so. 


Deposit  Slip 
MARINE  l^ATIONAL  BANK 

OF  BUFFALO 
Qeposited  to  Credit  oF 

Buffalo,  N.  Y.  Cl^QyU  - 


:  ^3      1918 


but  also  because  he 
has  confidence  that 
the  money  will  be 
more  carefully  protect- 
ed than  if  he  kept  it 
in  his  own  possession. 
In  depositing  his 
money  in  the  bank, 
the  business  man  uses 
a  deposit  slip  such  as 
the  one  illustrated 
here.  The  teller  puts 
down  the  amount  in 
the  bank  book  of  the 
depositor,  who  is  cred- 
ited with  that  amount 
on  the  bank's  books.  He  is  entitled  to  draw  just  that  much 
actual  cash  or  that  much  credit  in  the  form  of  checks,  (Sec 
page  339.)  Most  firms  do  not  deposit  a  simi  of  money  and 
then  promptly  draw  it  out  again  in  the  form  of  checks  to 
pay  current  liabilities,  but  maintain  a  fairly  steady  balance 
in  the  bank.  On  large  average  monthly  balances  most 
banks  allow  interest,  varying  from  one  per  cent  on  balances 


rf         ■ 

DOLLARS 

CT3. 

(JllflRFNOY 

38- 
18-3 

nnin^ 

.<?//  VFff^ 

7.^ 

nHFn.Kfi, 

/o^^^J>y^./S..M 

70 

GA'^j^aJ^. 

w 

MUnilNT^ 

3  6S 

^5 

BANKING  335 

of  one  thousand  dollars  to  three  per  cent  on  balances  of 
ten  thousand  dollars  or  more. 

Discount 

Because  a  large  bank  has  many  depositors,  the  aggregate 
of  all  the  balances  makes  a  considerable  sum  of  money. 
Bankers  have  learned  by  experience  just  what  proportion 
of  their  deposits  they  can  depend  on  to  remain  steadily  on 
deposit  as  a  balance,  and  thus  they  know  what  proportion 
of  their  deposits  it  is  safe  to  use  for  the  purpose  of  discount. 
The  simplest  case  of  the  discount  function  is  the  discount 
of  a  promissory  note.    In  the  note  shown  in  the  illustration 


poo  Springfield^  Mass,,  Ciyio(f.  3,  /^/5 

<. f. after  date,  I  promise  to  pay 

to  the  order  of. /. /. 

dollars  with  interest. 

Value  received. 


Promissory  Note 

after  ninety  days  John  H.  Blodgett  will  receive  from  Lucius 
Thomas  five  hundred  dollars  with  interest.  But  perhaps 
Blodgett  cannot  wait  ninety  days  for  his  money.  In  this 
case,  he  takes  the  note  to  his  banker,  who  will  pay  him  the 
five  hundred  dollars  less  a  certain  percentage  or  discount, 
which  is  the  bank's  profit  on  the  transaction.  The  bank 
then  collects  the  note  when  it  becomes  due. 

Collateral 

Instead  of  cashing  a  note  held  by  one  of  its  customers,  the 
bank  may  itself  loan  money  at  interest  for  a  short  period 
of  thirty,  sixty,  or  ninety  days,  taking  the  note  of  the  busi- 


336  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

ness  man  to  whom  the  money  is  loaned.  In  most  cases, 
however,  unless  the  bank  knows  the  business  man  well,  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  collateral  is  demanded  as  an  assurance  that 
the  borrower  will  pay  the  loan  when  it  becomes  due.  The 
amount  of  collateral  deposited  with  the  bank  is  usually  io% 
to  25%  in  excess  of  the  amount  loaned,  and  it  may  take  the 
form  of  stocks  or  bonds;  mortgages  on  real  estate;  liens  on 
stock,  fixtures,  or  personal  property;  or  warehouse  receipts. 
When  the  amount  borrowed  is  paid,  the  collateral  is  re- 
turned; if  it  is  not  paid  within  a  reasonable  time,  the  col- 
lateral is  sold,  and  the  amount  loaned,  with  interest  to  date, 
is  taken  from  the  proceeds. 

There  are,  of  course,  other  functions  of  banks  of  deposit 
practised  quite  generally  by  all  banks,  and  these  will  be  ex- 
plained later.  The  functions  just  described,  however,  dis- 
tinguish banks  of  deposit  in  a  general  way  from  the  other 
two  classes. 

Savings  Banks 

A  savings  bank  accepts  from  its  depositors  small  amounts 
of  money  which  are  not  subject  to  withdrawal  by  check,  but 
on  which  it  pays  a  low  rate  of  interest.  As  a  general  rule, 
an  account  may  be  opened  with  one  dollar;  and  when  the 
initial  deposit  is  made,  the  depositor  is  furnished  with  a  pass 
book,  similar  to  the  bank  book,  in  which  further  deposits, 
interest  credits,  and  withdrawals  are  recorded.  Interest  is 
compounded  every  four  or  six  months,  and  money  must,  as 
a  general  rule,  remain  on  deposit  until  an  interest  payment 
date  before  the  depositor  receives  any  interest  on  it.  The 
usual  rate  of  interest  is  three  per  cent,  although  four  is  often 
paid.  Frequently,  before  banks  allow  deposits  to  be  with- 
drawn, they  demand  a  certain  number  of  days'  notice, 
usually  thirty.  It  is  well  to  investigate  the  conditions  under 
which  the  depositor  places  his  money  in  the  safe-keeping  of 
the  bank,  because  the  withdrawal  requirements  are  often 


BANKING  337 

stringent.  Because  of  the  stability  of  this  class  of  deposit, 
banks  are  always  anxious  to  increase  their  savings  accounts, 
as  a  large  proportion  of  the  funds  may  be  used  for  loans. 

A  form  of  the  savings  bank  established  in  the  United  States 
in  191 1  is  the  postal  savings  bank,  in  which  the  post-office 
is  made  the  depository  for  savings.  The  post-office  in  the 
town  deposits  its  funds  in  the  local  national  or  state  bank, 
which,  as  security  for  safe-keeping,  must  deposit  with  the 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States  bonds  at  least  equal  in  value 
to  the  amount  of  savings  deposited  in  the  bank.  Postal 
savings  banks  are  practically  absolutely  safe,  because,  if  the 
bank  which  takes  care  of  the  funds  should  fail,  the  bonds 
may  be  sold,  so  that  the  savers  will  receive  their  money. 
From  deposits  made  in  the  postal  savings  bank,  the  return 
to  the  depositor  is  only  two  per  cent,  whereas  the  return 
from  deposits  made  in  the  bank's  own  savings  department  is 
three,  three  and  a  half,  and  sometimes  four  per  cent. 

Trust  Companies 

The  Richards^  Baby  Stocking  Fund 

A  miner  named  Richards  was  killed  in  an  accident  in  an  Alaska 
mine.  Among  his  possessions  were  found  a  number  of  letters  and 
a  baby  stocking  containing  a  little  gold  dust.  The  letters  told 
that  Richards  had  a  little  six-year-old  daughter,  who  was  now  left 
destitute.  The  rough  miners  made  up  a  fund  of  $2,500  in  gold 
dust,  depositing  it  with  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  the 
Territory  of  Alaska,  to  be  held  by  him  until  the  proper  disposition 
of  it  could  be  made.  A  committe  was  appointed,  who  agreed  that 
one  hundred  dollars  a  year  for  ten  years  should  be  used  to  give 
the  child  a  common  school  education,  and  then  five  hundred  dol- 
lars each  year  to  give  her  a  college  education.  A  legal  guardian 
was  appointed,  and  the  Kansas  City  Trust  Company  asked  to  act 
as  co-guardian  to  invest  the  money  and  make  the  required  remit- 
tances. The  funds  were  first  deposited  by  the  commissioner  in  a 
bank  in  Portland,  which  sent  them  to  the  Kansas  City  Trust  Com- 
pany. Correspondence  was  of  course  carried  on  at  the  same  time, 
the  Kansas  City  Trust  Company  agreeing  to  accept  the  trust  with- 


338  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

out  remuneration.     They  have  invested  the  money  in  five  per  cent 
bonds,  thus  increasing  the  fund  yearly. 

This  is  called  a  trust  because  the  money  is  entrusted  for 
safe-keeping  and  investment  to  the  bank,  which  is  called  the 
trustee.  A  bank  may  also  become  the  trustee  for  property 
left  at  the  death  of  a  person,  both  when  there  is  a  will  and 
when  there  is  none.  When  there  is  no  will  and  the  bank  takes 
charge  of  the  afifairs  of  the  deceased,  the  bank  is  called  the 
administrator;  when  there  is  a  will,  the  executor.  Another 
important  function  of  the  trust  company  is  acting  as  receiver 
for  a  company  which  has  failed;  that  is,  adjusting  the  com- 
pany's affairs  in  the  way  fairest  both  to  the  stockholders 
and  to  the  company's  creditors.  The  trust  company  often 
acts,  also,  as  agent  for  its  clients'  property,  performing  the 
same  duties  as  a  real  estate  agent. 

Form  of  Remittance 

Banks  as  a  class  are  distinguished  one  from  the  other 
according  as  they  specialize  in  one  or  more  of  the  functions 
described  above.  However,  there  are  certain  services  that 
all  banks  perform  and  certain  facilities  that  they  all  offer 
in  connection  with  the  payment  of  money  from  one  person 
to  another.    These  concern  the  forms  of  remittance. 

If  you  have  studied  business  arithmetic  or  bookkeeping, 
you  very  likely  know  the  definite  forms  that  are  used.  At 
all  events,  you  know  that  currency  should  never  go  through 
the  mails.  The  following  is  a  brief  review  of  the  more 
important  forms  that  may  be  used.  Study  the  illustrations 
carefully,  noticing  particularly  the  similarity  of  form  in  all. 
Uniformity  in  such  matters  is  desirable  because  it  saves 
time  as  well  as  misunderstandings.  The  forms  we  shall 
consider  are: 

I.  The  check 

a.  Personal 
h.  Certified 


BANKING 


339 


The  money  order 
a.  Express 
h.  Postal 
The  bank  draft 
The  time  draft 
The  sight  draft 


Check.  —  A  check  is  a  written  order  on  a  bank,  signed  by 
a  depositor,  directing  the  bank  to  pay  a  certain  person  a 
certain  sum  of  money.  When  the  bank  pays  the  order,  it 
deducts  the  amount  from  the  depositor's  account.  The 
one  who  signs  the  check  is  called  the  drawer  or  maker;  the 
person  to  whom  or  to  whose  order  a  check  is  made  payable 
is  called  the  payee;  the  bank  on  which  a  check  is  drawn  is 
called  the  drawee. 


Date    yVLMj^  I  190  o 


^^ 


BuFFALO.N.Y        ^^^-^  /      1916  HO     lib 

OF  (j^O-^AA^ 


or  eurrALQ. 


^^Zpt^  a^^^^y^ 


Dollars 


4fj2,t,aJUiO:(^ftih 


Check  and  Stub 

Of  course,  before  you  could  write  a  check  for  one  hundred 
dollars,  you  must  have  deposited  at  least  one  hundred  dollars 
in  the  bank  on  which  the  check,  is  drawn.  The  bank  supplies 
you  with  a  check  book,  consisting  of  blank  checks,  each 
attached  to  a  stub.  When  you  write  a  check,  you  put  the 
same  information  on  the  stub  to  be  kept  for  reference.  Then 
you  tear  off  the  check  through  the  perforated  line,  using 
it  to  pay  for  whatever  you  may  have  purchased. 

Certified  Check.  —  Suppose,  however,  that  you  are  writing 
this  check  to  pay  a  debt  to  a  stranger  who  lives  in  another 


340  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

city.  He  may  hesitate  to  accept  it  as  money.  That  he  may 
have  no  cause  to  doubt  your  ability  to  pay  the  check,  you 
take  it  to  your  bank  to  have  the  cashier  investigate  your 
account.  If  he  finds  that  you  have  sufficient  funds,  he 
writes  or  stamps  Accepted  or  Certified  on  the  check  and  signs 
his  name.  At  the  same  time  the  amount  of  the  check  is 
deducted  from  your  account.  Such  a  check  is  accepted 
without  question  when  the  holder  is  properly  identified. 

Endorsement.  —  If  A  gives  you  his  check  for  twenty-five 
dollars,  you  could  not  receive  the  money  until  you  had  en- 
dorsed the  check;  that  is,  put  your  name  on  the  back, 
which  is,  in  effect,  giving  a  receipt  for  the  money.  You 
may  do  this  in  various  ways.     You  may  endorse: 

1.  In  blank;  that  is,  merely  write  yourname  across  the  back. 

2.  In  full,  by  saying,  ''Pay  to  the  order  of "  and  signing 

your  name. 

3.  By  restricting  the  payment   to  a  particular  person;    as, 

"Pay  to "     This  check  cannot  now  be  cashed  by  anyone 

except  the  one  named  in  the  endorsement. 


When  CouNTEnstONEO         ^^^^^^^^  7-5997858 

»y  AOCHT  AT  POINT  or  isStjC 


/^        C'      /*       /    A<|REC3  TO  TRANSMIT  AND  ""y"^-         ^ 'f 


PA3fTOTHE0RDrR0F_ 

The  Sum  OF    (L/^V^lAy?^  <2>>^^t?«^^ .tsoDollars 

C^'l^A-CC^  Statl  or      C/^^c 


Date. 


FEB.&I  1915 


IV  UASURC.AlTCNATlON.eerACCMCNt 


-on  MUTIkATIOM  Of  THIS  OROCN  RCMOCRS  IT  VOlO:  (_ 


Express  Money  Order 

Express  Money  Order,  —  An  express  money  order  is  much 
like  a  check,  except  that  it  is  drawn  on  an  express  company 
instead  of  on  a  bank  and  reads,  for  example:  Continental 
Express  Company  agrees  to  transmit  and  pay  to  the  order 


BANKING  341 

of  —  (the  one  to  whom  you  are  sending  the  money)  —  (the 
amount).  The  order  is  signed  by  the  treasurer  of  the  com- 
pany and  countersigned  by  the  agent  who  sells  it.  You  can 
buy  such  an  order  at  any  express  ofl&ce.  It  may  be  endorsed 
like  a  check. 


[Name  of  office  issuing  the  order]  NO. 

DATE 
THE   POSTMASTER  AT    [Name  of  office  on  which  order  is  drawn] 

WILL    PAY  THE   SUM    OF  DOLLARS    I    CTS. 

DOLLARS  CENTS  I 

words  for  dollars  figures  for  cents 

TO  THE  ORDER  OF  [Name  of  person  to  whom  order  is  payable] 

[Signature  of]  POSTMASTER 
NAME   OF    REMITTER 


Postal  Money  Order 

Postal  Money  Order,  —  The  other  form  of  money  order, 
the  postal,  is  an  agreement  signed  by  the  postmaster  of  one 
city  that  the  postmaster  of  another  city  will  pay  the  amount 
of  money  named  in  the  order  to  the  person  named  in  the 
order. 

Bank  Draft.  —  A  bank  draft  is  very  much  like  a  check, 
except  that  instead  of  two  individuals  dealing  with  each 
other  two  banks  conduct  the  transaction,  their  places  of  busi- 
ness being  in  different  cities  or  villages.  A  bank  draft  is 
sometimes  called  a  bank  check,  because  in  the  case  of  both 
a  draft  and  a  check  one  party  draws  upon  another  with  whom 
the  first  has  funds  deposited.  As  a  general  rule,  banks  and 
business  houses  require  that  remittances  be  sent  to  them 
by  drafts  drawn  on  New  York  or  Chicago  banks,  as  there  is 
a  charge  called  exchange  made  in  the  collection  of  checks 
drawn  on  local  banks. 

In  the  draft  that  follows,  the  State  Bank  of  Utah,  of  which 
Henry  T.  McEwan  is  Assistant  Cashier,  makes  out  the 
draft.    The  bank  which  is  ordered  to  pay  the  money  is  the 


342  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

National  Park  Bank  of  New  York.    The  money  is  to  be  paid 
to  Henry  L.  Fowler.    The  State  Bank  of  Utah  is  called  the 


3ANK,    I 

Y.   N.   Y.      > 


TO  THE  National  park  bank,  (     /fttif^/t^f  J-  frX^wMhoM.^.^ 

NEW  YORK  CITY. 


<ZiU^^aA^ 


Bank  Draft 

drawer;  the  National  Park  Bank  of  New  York,  on  whom  the 
draft  is  drawn,  is  the  drawee;  Henry  L.  Fowler  is  the  payee. 

The  payment  indicated  above 
Endorsement  ^^g  probably  made  without  act- 

ually sending  the  money  from 
Salt  Lake  City  to  New  York. 
It  was  done  in  this  way: 

Henry  L.  Fowler  of  Salt 
Lake  City  owes  one  hundred 
dollars  to  a  man  living  in 
an  Eastern  city,  let  us  say  Charles  Emery  of  Rochester, 
N.  Y.  Mr.  Fowler  goes  to  the  State  Bank  of  Utah  in 
Salt  Lake  City  and  "buys  a  draft  on  New  York," 
made  payable  to  himself.  The  bank  makes  out  the  above, 
charging  Mr.  Fowler  one  hundred  dollars  plus  a  fraction 
of  one  per  cent  for  its  trouble.  Mr.  Fowler  endorses  it 
in  full  to  Mr.  Emery  of  Rochester  and  sends  the  draft  to  the 
latter.     He  has  the  draft  made  payable  to  himself  so  that  the 


S^OAf^  to-  tk&  cyvcL&v  ojj' 


BANKING  343 

endorsement  will  constitute  a  full  record  of  the  transaction. 
Mr.  Emery  takes  the  draft  to  his  own  bank  in  Rochester, 
endorses  it  in  blank,  and  receives  the  one  hundred  dollars. 
Thus  Mr.  Fowler  has  paid  out  the  money  and  Mr.  Emery 
has  received  it. 

The  way  the  banks  conduct  the  transaction  is  as  follows: 
There  are  certain  big  money  centers  in  the  country;  e.g.. 
New  York,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  San  Francisco.  Important 
banks  in  other  places  have  money  on  deposit  in  at  least  one 
bank  in  each  of  these  centers.  The  banks  which  thus  deal 
with  one  another  are  called  correspondents.  The  National 
Park  Bank  is  the  correspondent  of  the  State  Bank  of  Utah. 
When  Mr.  Emery  cashes  the  draft  at  his  Rochester  bank,  the 
latter  sends  it  to  its  New  York  correspondent,  and  at  the 
same  time  charges  the  correspondent  one  hundred  dollars. 
The  correspondent  presents  the  draft  to  the  National  Park 
Bank,  which  pays  the  money  and  charges  the  same  amount 
to  the  State  Bank  of  Utah.  Explain  how  this  settles  the 
transaction. 

Time  Draft,  —  A  time  draft  is  much  like  a  bank  draft,  in 
that  two  banks  conduct  the  principal  part  of  the  transac- 

$Shzt  BUFFALa^^^^^^2.7      1915 

jSyOiftu  i^Lvi^  .a^^^h/t<l<ct^  Pay  towe  order  of 

S  \    mee  received  aBdebar^e  to  itccoimt  of 

Time  Draft 

tion  for  two  individuals,  but  no  money  is  actually  paid  at 
the  time  the  draft  is  drawn.  The  details  of  a  transaction  of 
this  kind  are  explained  on  the  following  page. 


344  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

Horace  Prang  of  1008  Elm  Street,  Columbus,  Ohio,  owes 
Loetzer  &  Co.  five  hundred  dollars,  due  August  27,  191 5. 
Loetzer  &  Co.  make  out  the  draft  above  and  deposit  it  in 
the  Bank  of  Buffalo.  The  latter  sends  the  draft  to  its  cor- 
respondent in  Columbus,  which  presents  the  draft  to  Horace 
Prang.  If  he  is  willing  to  pay  the  note  when  it  falls  due,  he 
writes  across  the  face  of  it,  '^  Accepted, ^^  adds  the  date,  and 
signs  his  name.  It  is  now  returned  to  the  Bank  of  Buffalo. 
The  Bank  of  Buffalo  will  then  discount  the  draft  for  Loetzer 
&Co. 

Sight  Draft,  —  A  sight  draft  is  much  like  a  time  draft, 
except  that  the  amount  is  paid  by  the  person  on  whom  it  is 
drawn  as  soon  as  it  is  presented,  instead  of  after  a  stipulated 
length  of  time. 


w : : 

Si 


$  4t^.—  Buffalo.  N.Y..   J^.  ^         1915. 

COr^'^'^^yuyh^ pj^Y  TO  the  ORoen  or  the 

Marine:  National  Bank  of  Buffalo, 

^^ff^tA^L^jC^^^^^UAjtU,  a,4^^'iw^u:tpj^  ^ -   Dollars. 

VALUE  RECEIVED  AND  CHARGE  TO  THE  ACCOTTNT  OF 


Sight  Draft 
Suppose  the  Empire  Elevator  Co.  of  Buffalo  has  sold  $420 
worth  of  grain  to  the  Smith  Milling  Co.  of  Springfield,  Mass. 
When  the  grain  is  loaded  on  the  cars,  the  railroad  company 
gives  the  Empire  Elevator  Co.  a  bill  of  lading.  Now,  the 
Smith  Milling  Co.  must  possess  this  bill  of  lading  before  it 
can  take  the  grain  from  the  cars  at  Springfield.  The  Empire 
Elevator  Co.  deposits  the  bill  of  lading  with  the  above  draft 
in  the  Marine  National  Bank  of  Buffalo.  This  bank  sends 
both  to  its  correspondent  in  Springfield.  The  Springfield  bank 
presents  the  draft  to  the  Smith  Milling  Co.,  who  may  take 


BANKING  345 

the  grain  from  the  cars  on  payment  of  the  draft.  In  case 
of  non-payment,  both  draft  and  bill  of  lading  are  returned 
to  the  Marine  National  Bank  of  Buffalo,  and  the  Empire 
Elevator  Co.  must  make  arrangements  for  the  return  or  the 
disposal  of  the  grain. 

Exercise  301 

1.  F.  R.  Thompson,  sales  manager  of  the  New  York  Trust 
and  Savings  Bank,  sends  a  circular  letter  to  a  number  of  banks, 
saying  that  he  is  enclosing  a  booklet  that  describes  a  number  of 
bonds  suitable  for  the  security  of  postal  savings  deposits,  the 
legality  of  which  has  been  carefully  investigated.  In  his  letter 
he  mentions  especially  Omaha,  Nebraska,  School  4^%  bonds, 
price  to  net  4.40%;  Seattle,  Washington,  Harbor  5%  bonds,  price 
to  net  4i%;  and  Hoquiam,  Washington,  Bridge  5^%  bonds,  price 
to  net  5%.  Reproduce  the  letter,  addressing  it  to  W.  W.  Fallows, 
Cashier  of  the  Mercantile  National  Bank  of  Pueblo,  Colorado. 

2.  Mr.  Fallows  answers,  saying  that  his  knowledge  of  the 
postal  savings  law  is  vague  and  that  he  would  be  glad  if  Mr. 
Thompson  would  give  him  definite  information  on  the  subject. 

3.  Mr.  Thompson  replies  that  he  is  enclosing  a  copy  of  the 
postal  savings  law.  He  assures  Mr.  Fallows  that  he  can  serve  the 
latter  both  in  buying  the  proper  securities  and  in  depositing  them 
with  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States.  Application  for  such 
deposits  must  be  made  by  the  bank  itself.  Mr.  Thompson  will 
gladly  inform  him  if  Mr.  Fallows  does  not  know  the  steps  to 
be  taken  or  the  report  to  be  submitted. 

4.  Punctuate,  using  a  letterhead: 

Mercantile  Trust  Company  New  York  City  Dec  219-  manager 
the  bank  of  Scotland  30  bishop  E  C  London  England  dear  sir  we 
are  sending  you  herewith  advice  of  the  issuance  of  our  circular 
letter  of  credit  No.  262  in  favor  of  Miss  Helen  Jackson  for  300 
pounds  sterling  Miss  Jackson  is  at  present  in  Paris  France  and  the 
letter  of  credit  has  been  forwarded  to  Messrs  Thomas  Cooke  and 
Son  I  Place  de  V  Opera  Paris  we  have  requested  Messrs  Thomas 
Cooke  and  Son  to  forward  to  you  two  specimens  of  Miss  Jacksons 
signature  which  we  have  signed  and  forwarded  to  Messrs  Thomas 
Cooke  and  Son  for  that  purpose  so  that  you  may  have  these 
signatures  before  any  drafts  against  the  letter  of  credit  are  pre- 
sented to  you  yours  very  truly  James  R  Hudson  treasurer. 


346  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

What  is  a  letter  of  credit?    How  did  Miss  Jackson  get  it? 

The  Bank  of  Scotland  is  the  correspondent  of  the  Mercantile 
Trust  Company.     Explain. 

Why  should  the  New  York  bank  forward  Miss  Jackson's  sig- 
nature? 

5.  Write  the  letter  that  the  Mercantile  Trust  Company  sends 
to  Messrs.  Thomas  Cooke  and  Son. 

6.  Write  the  letter  that  Messrs.  Thomas  Cooke  and  Son  send 
to  the  Bank  of  Scotland. 

7.  W.  T.  Randall,  cashier  of  the  Milwaukee  Trust  and  Savings 
Bank,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  writes  a  letter,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to 
secure  savings  accounts.  A  club  of  500  members  is  to  be  formed. 
Each  member  is  to  buy  a  share  by  paying  one  dollar  and  to  pay 
one  dollar  per  week  per  share,  the  amount  to  draw  interest  at  3%. 
After  forty-eight  weeks  he  gets  credit  for  fifty  dollars  per  share, 
thus  securing  over  5%  interest  on  his  money.  Make  the  offer 
attractive. 

8.  Some  time  ago  a  bank  in  your  city  discounted  a  note  held 
by  George  Carpenter,  signed  by  Martin  Kugerman.  The  note 
falls  due  in  ten  days.  As  cashier  write  to  Mr.  Kugerman,  telling 
him  that  you  hold  the  note  and  that  you  hope  he  will  be  able  to 
remit  on  the  day  of  maturity. 

9.  Your  bank  loaned  Clarence  Went  worth  $500  for  ninety 
days,  taking  as  security  $700  worth  of  collateral.  The  note  falls 
due  in  a  week.  Write  to  Mr.  Wentworth,  reminding  him  that 
the  note  falls  due  and  asking  him  whether  he  wishes  to  pay  it  off 
or  whether  he  wishes  it  extended. 

10.  John  Elsworth,  who  has  an  account  with  you,  writes,  saying 
that  by  registered  mail  he  is  sending  you  certificates  of  20  shares 
Union  Pacific  common  stock,  50  shares  National  Biscuit  Co.  pre- 
ferred stock,  5  (bonds)  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  con- 
vertible 4j's,  3  (bonds)  New  York  and  East  River  Gas  Co.  first 
mortgage  5's.  He  asks  you  to  take  care  of  them  and  collect 
dividends  and  interest  when  they  are  due,  crediting  them  to  his 
account. 

11.  Your  correspondent,  the  First  National  Bank  of  Janesville, 
Wis.,  writes,  asking  you  to  forward  by  registered  mail  $5,000  in 
currency. 

Exercise  302 

I.  Mr.  Henry  Carroll  of  Wausau,  Wis.,  writes  to  Mr.  Randall 
(Exercise  301,  7),  asking  him  to  buy  10  shares  of  C.  &  N.  W.  R.  R. 


BANKING  347 

preferred  stock  at  134  or  better.    When  they  are  bought,  he  adds, 
they  can  be  sent  through  any  bank  in  Wausau. 

2.  Mr.  Randall  replies  by  sending  the  10  shares  of  stock  to  the 
bank's  correspondent  in  Wausau,  the  First  National  Bank,  telling 
the  latter  to  deliver  them  to  Mr.  Henry  Carroll  on  payment  of 
the  enclosed  draft  for  $1340  with  exchange.     Write  the  letter. 

3.  A  dressmaker  in  South  Bend,  Ind.,  has  applied  to  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.,  Retail,  State  and  Washington  Streets,  Chicago,  for 
a  charge  account.  The  department  store  makes  inquiries  con- 
cerning her  at  her  bank,  the  Commercial  and  Savings  Bank  of 
South  Bend.    Write  the  letter. 

4.  The  bank  replies  that  she  has  maintained  a  small  but 
steady  balance,  that  she  has  never  overdrawn  her  account,  and 
that  in  their  opinion  her  credit  would  be  good  up  to  $100  monthly. 
Write  the  letter. 

5.  Theodore  Buchanan  of  St.  Louis  sends  Philip  Newborg  of 
your  city  a  check  for  $100  with  which  he  pays  a  debt  to  Charles 
Springer  of  Minneapolis.  Springer  endorses  it  and  deposits  it 
in  the  Security  National  Bank.  The  check  is  returned  marked 
N.S.F.,  and  the  Security  National  Bank  notifies  Springer  of 
the  situation  and  of  the  fact  that  his  account  has  been  charged 
with  $104,  the  amount  of  the  draft  plus  expenses. 

6.  One  of  the  depositors  of  the  Milwaukee  Trust  and  Savings 
Bank  brings  to  the  Cashier  a  note  which  is  about  due,  and 
asks  the  bank  to  collect  it.  The  maker  of  the  note  is  William  T. 
Adams  of  Seattle.  The  Cashier  writes  to  the  bank's  correspond- 
ent in  Seattle,  the  Scandinavian  American  Bank,  asking  the 
latter  to  collect.    Write  the  letter.     (See  Exercise  301,  7.) 

7.  The  Scandinavian  American  bank  writes  to  William  T. 

Adams,  telling  him  that  it  holds  a  note  signed  by  him,  due , 

and  asking  him  to  make  prompt  payment.    Write  the  letter. 

8.  Mr.  Adams  pays  the  note.  The  Seattle  Bank  notifies  the 
Milwaukee  Bank,  enclosing  a  draft  for  the  amount.  Write  the 
letter. 

9.  See  Exercise  301,  10.  As  John  Elsworth's  banker  send  the 
coupons  for  the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  bonds  to 
your  correspondent  in  New  York,  the  National  City  Bank, 
because  the  interest  is  payable  in  New  York.  Ask  the  bank  to 
make  the  collection.    Write  the  letter. 

10.  The  National  City  Bank  makes  the  collection  and  informs 
you  by  means  of  a  printed  form  that  it  has  credited  you  with  the 
amount,  $112.50.     The  form  is  just  like  a  letter  except  that  it  is 


348  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

already  printed  with  blanks  left  for  the  name  and  the  address 
and  for  itemizing  the  coupons  collected.     Write  such  a  form. 

11.  One  of  your  depositors  has  overdrawn  his  account.  Notify 
him  of  the  fact.  Do  this  courteously  so  that  the  depositor  may 
have  no  reason  to  withdraw  his  account. 

12.  In  your  city  there  is  a  real  estate  dealer  who  often  has 
large  sums  of  money  idle  for  a  short  time  because,  when  he  sells 
one  piece  of  property,  he  does  not  always  have  another  immedi- 
ately in  view.  He  is  not  a  depositor  in  your  bank.  Write  to 
him,  inducing  him  to  take  out  a  Certificate  of  Deposit  at  such 
times  and  telling  him  that  the  advantages  of  such  a  certificate  are 
that  he  will  get  3%  interest  on  the  money  deposited  and  that  he 
may  draw  out  the  money  at  any  time. 

13.  One  of  your  depositors  has  written  to  you,  asking  for  a 
loan  of  $5,000  for  nine  months.  Write  to  him,  saying  that  it  is 
not  your  practice  to  make  time  loans  for  definite  periods  longer 
than  six  months,  as  it  is  not  a  good  plan  thus  to  tie  up  your  deposits. 
Explain  that  as  most  of  a  bank's  deposits  are  payable  on  demand, 
you  would  suggest  his  taking  out  a  demand  loan  for  $5,000,  pay- 
able on  the  demand  of  the  bank.  Under  ordinary  business  con- 
ditions such  a  loan  might  easily  run  for  nine  months. 

14.  R.  F.  Marsden,  President  of  the  Truesdale  Cotton  Mill, 
Birmingham,  Ala.,  has  written  to  you,  asking  whether  he  can 
secure  a  loan  next  fall  on  the  cotton  in  the  mill  as  collateral. 
Reply  that  you  feel  certain  that  satisfactory  arrangements  could 
be  made  if  the  cotton  were  stored  in  an  accredited  warehouse,  so 
that  you  could  accept  the  warehouse  receipt  as  collateral. 

Exercise  303 

Punctuate  and  paragraph  the  following  letter,  which  ex- 
plains one  function  of  a  trust  company: 

Dear  sir  as  you  are  one  of  our  clients  you  are  familiar  with  the 
reputation  of  this  bank  for  sound  banking  and  conservative 
investments  you  may  not  however  be  aware  that  we  have  a  fully 
equipped  trust  department  prepared  to  act  in  any  of  the  numerous 
capacities  in  which  the  services  of  trust  companies  have  proved  of 
special  value  at  this  time  we  wish  to  call  your  particular  attention 
to  the  service  which  this  department  is  prepared  to  render  as 
trustee  under  agreement  it  is  natural  that  one  who  has  accumu- 
lated property  should  desire  to  superintend  or  direct  its  disposition 
formerly  this  was  done  by  will  now  however  as  the  complex  laws 


BANKING  349 

of  the  various  states  frequently  necessitate  the  payment  of  double 
or  triple  inheritance  taxes  it  is  becoming  a  more  and  more  common 
practice  for  a  man  during  his  lifetime  to  administer  his  own  estate 
so  to  speak  this  may  be  accomplished  through  the  establishment 
of  a  trust  with  respect  to  either  a  part  or  all  of  one's  prop,erty  it 
can  be  accomplished  not  only  with  absolute  safety  to  the  donor 
but  with  entire  secrecy  as  well  the  terms  of  the  trust  being  regarded 
as  absolutely  confidential  furthermore  the  donor  has  the  satis- 
faction of  disposing  of  his  property  during  his  lifetime  in  accord- 
ance with  his  desires  the  life  of  a  trust  company  unlike  that  of  any 
individual  is  of  perpetual  duration  death  does  not  interfere  with 
its  management  of  the  trust  estate  its  financial  responsibility  and 
the  safeguards  thrown  around  trust  estates  by  the  state  laws 
insure  the  safety  of  a  trust  fund  if  you  are  interested  in  this  subject 
let  us  discuss  it  with  you  either  in  person  or  by  correspondence 
when  this  bank  is  named  in  a  trust  capacity  no  charge  is  made 
for  service  or  advice  in  connection  with  the  drafting  of  the  trust 
instruments  yours  truly 

Before  writing  the  following,  re-read  The  Richards'  Baby 
Stocking  Fund,  page  337. 

1.  Suppose  that  you  were  a  newspaper  correspondent  in  Alaska 
at  the  time  Richards  was  killed.  For  your  home  paper  write  an 
account  of  the  finding  of  the  baby  stocking.  In  what  ways  would 
this  account  differ  from  a  magazine  article  on  the  same  subject? 

2.  As  if  you  were  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Alaska,  write  to  a  Portland  bank  saying  that  you  are 
sending  the  $2,500  to  them,  and  asking  them  to  put  the  funds  in 
the  care  of  a  reliable  trust  company. 

3.  The  Portland  bank  writes  to  the  Kansas  City  Trust  Com- 
pany, asking  if  the  latter  will  accept  the  trust.     Write  the  letter. 

4.  The  Kansas  City  Trust  Company  repHes  that  it  will  accept 
the  trust  without  remuneration.     Write  the  letter. 

5.  The  Portland  bank  informs  the  United  States  Commissioner 
of  the  Territory  of  Alaska  of  the  disposition  of  the  funds.  Write 
the  letter. 

Exercise  304 

Topics  for  Investigation  and  Discussion 

1.  The  panic  of  1907  and  some  of  its  lessons. 

2.  Future  banking  reform. 

3.  Government  supervision  of  banks. 


3 so  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

4.  Unscrupulous  banking  companies. 

5.  Clearing  house  certiJ&cates. 

6.  Postal  savings  banks. 

7.  The  work  of  the  clearing  house. 

8.  The  need  of  banks  in  a  community. 

9.  The  development  of  real  estate  firms  into  banks. 
10.  The  Owen  Glass  Currency  Bill. 

Exercise  305 

Books  that  will  Suggest  Topics  for  Talks 

Crocker,  U.  H.,  The  Cause  of  Hard  Times. 

Fonda,  Arthur  J.,  Honest  Money. 

GiBBS,  H.  C,  A  Bimetallic  Primer. 

McAdams,  Graham,  An  Alphabet  in  Finance. 

Newcomb,  Simon,  The  A  B  C  of  Finance. 

Norton,  S.  F.,  Ten  Men  of  Money  Island,  or  The  Primer  of  Finance. 

Reeves,  John,  The  Rothschilds:  The  Financial  Rulers  of  Nations. 

White,  Horace,  Money  and  Banking. 

Exercise  306 

Write  the  following  from  dictation: 


The  Daily  Routine  of  the  Clearing  House 

Each  bank  sends  two  clerks  to  the  Clearing  House:  a  deliver- 
ing clerk  and  a  settling  clerk.  There  are  three  rows  of  seats  run- 
ning through  the  clearing  room  lengthwise,  one  in  the  center  and 
one  on  each  side  parallel  with  it.  The  settling  clerks  occupy  these 
seats  and  each  one  has  a  sufficient  amount  of  desk  room  in  front 
of  him  to  do  his  work  on,  his  space  being  separated  from  his  neigh- 
bors' by  a  wire  screen.  The  delivery  clerks,  with  their  packages 
of  checks  in  separate  envelopes,  stand  in  the  open  space  in  front 
of  the  settling  clerks.  At  two  minutes  before  10  o'clock  the  man- 
ager, whose  station  is  an  elevated  open  space  at  the  extreme  end 
of  the  room,  strikes  a  bell." 

The  movement  has  all  the  precision  of  a  military  drill.  When 
the  second  bell  sounds,  at  exactly  10  o'clock,  each  delivery  clerk 
takes  one  step  forward,  hands  the  proper  package  to  the  settling 
clerk  of  the  bank  next  to  him,  drops  the  accompanying  ticket 
showing  the  amount  into  an  aperture  like  a  letter  box,  and  places 


BANKING,  351 

before  the  settling  clerk  his  schedule,  on  which  the  latter  places 
his  initials.  Thus  the  procession  moves  uninterruptedly  until 
each  delivery  clerk  has  presented  to  each  settling  clerk  the  proper 
package  and  ticket.  Usually  this  part  of  the  operation  is  com- 
pleted in  ten  minutes.  Meanwhile  the  proof  clerk,  who  occupies 
a  desk  near  the  manager,  has  entered  the  claims  of  each  bank 
under  the  head  "Bank  Cr."  on  a  broad  sheet  of  paper. 

Inasmuch  as  the  amount  of  each  bank's  claim  against  the 
Clearing  House  (entered  under  the  head  "Banks  Cr.")  is  the  sum 
of  all  the  tickets  which  its  delivery  clerk  has  pushed  into  the 
letter  boxes  of  the  other  banks,  it  follows  that  all  the  tickets  of 
all  the  banks  should  equal  all  the  entries  under  that  head.  The 
next  step  in  the  operation  is  for  each  settling  clerk  to  arrange  the 
amounts  of  all  the  tickets  in  his  letter  box  in  a  column,  add  it 
up,  and  send  the  amount  to  the  proof  clerk,  who  transcribes  and 
arranges  it  according  to  the  bank's  number  under  the  head 
"Banks  Dr.,"  so  that  the  debit  of  Bank  A  shall  be  on  the  same 
line  with  its  credit. 

Then  the  difference  between  the  two  will  show  how  much  the 
bank  owes  the  Clearing  House  or  how  much  the  Clearing  House 
owes  the  bank.  The  time  occupied  by  the  settling  clerks  in 
arranging  their  tickets  and  adding  up  the  columns  is  about  half 
an  hour.  As  fast  as  these  footings  are  completed,  they  are  sent 
to  the  proof  clerk,  who  puts  them  in  the  debit  column  opposite 
the  credits  of  the  banks,  respectively.  When  all  are  completed, 
if  no  error  has  been  made,  the  footings  of  the  credit  and  debit 
columns  must  be  exactly  equal  and  the  footings  of  the  two  other 
columns,  which  show  the  differences,  must  be  exactly  equal. 
Then  these  differences  are  read  off  slowly  and  in  a  distinct  tone  by 
the  manager,  so  that  each  settling  clerk  can  write  down  the  sum 
that  his  bank  has  to  pay  or  to  receive.  As  time  is  money  at  the 
Clearing  House,  a  fine  is  exacted  for  every  error  and  every  delay 
in  making  footings,  for  every  disobedience  of  the  orders  of  the 
manager,  or  for  every  instance  of  disorderly  conduct.  —  Horace 
White:  Money  and  Banking. 


The  Treasury,  in  connection  with  its  money  washing,  has  asked 
national  banks  to  exercise  more  care  in  sending  in  money  for 
redemption.  Banks  frequently  put  into  the  same  bundle  good 
notes,  bad  notes,  and  notes  of  different  denominations.  When 
they  are  mixed  in  this  way,  it  requires  a  good  deal  of  work  to 


352  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

separate  the  money.  The  Treasury  thinks  that  the  banks  could 
do  this  work,  so  that,  when  the  money  reaches  Washington,  it  could 
easily  be  separated  by  packages  instead  of  each  package  having 
to  be  separated  first.  The  Assistant  Secretary  says  he  believes 
that,  when  he  gets  the  subject  worked  out  in  detail,  new  washed 
money  will  be  returned  to  the  bank  in  any  denomination  desired 
on  the  same  day  that  it  is  received;  that  money  unfit  for  launder- 
ing will  be  destroyed  and  new  money  issued.  This  expeditious 
handling  of  money  sent  in  for  redemption  cannot,  however,  be 
attained,  he  admits,  without  the  co-operation  of  the  banks.  In 
a  short  time,  he  believes,  all  banks  will  see  that  it  is  to  their 
benefit  to  do  this. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
THE  CORPORATION 

The  study  that  we  have  thus  far  made  of  the  various 
kinds  of  businesses  would  be  incomplete  did  we  not  briefly 
outline  the  different  types  of  organization  by  which  modern 
business  is  conducted.  This  will  natually  lead  us  to  a  dis- 
cussion of  stocks  and  bonds,  which  are  of  great  importance 
in  every  big  business  and  of  interest  to  individuals  as  means 
of  investment.  However,  as  the  subjects  are  probably  out- 
side the  experience  of  most  students,  we  shall  treat  them 
as  simply  as  possible,  letting  the  chapter  stand  rather  for 
the  information  it  contains  than  for  its  application  to  the 
study  of  English  expression. 

Business  to-day  is  carried  on  in  three  different  ways; 
viz.,  by  individuals,  by  partnerships,  and  by  corporations. 
The  grocer,  the  butcher,  the  baker,  or  any  one  man  who 
carries  on  a  business  is  an  example  of  the  first.  If,  however, 
the  grocer  and  the  butcher,  or  the  grocer  and  the  baker, 
combine  their  businesses  for  the  good  of  both,  they  form 
a  partnership.  When  the  amount  of  capital  necessary  for 
carrying  on  the  business  becomes  so  large  that  the  money 
of  many  people  is  needed,  a  corporation  is  formed.  The 
amount  of  money  which  any  one  individual  invests  in  the 
company  is  represented  by  a  certain  number  of  shares  of  the 
capital  stock  of  the  company,  entitling  him  to  his  portion 
of  the  dividends,  or  interest  on  the  money  he  has  invested. 
These  shares  of  the  capital  stock  are  transferable  and  can 
be  bought  and  sold  like  an  automobile  or  a  house.  Since 
there  is  no  time  limit  as  to  how  long  a  corporation  may  do 
business,  a  change  in  the  ownership  of  part  of  the  stock,  or 


354  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

the  death  of  a  stockholder,  is  not  accompanied  by  the  same 
result  as  in  a  partnership,  where  the  death  of  one  of  the 
partners  sometimes  breaks  up  the  business.  Furthermore,  in 
a  partnership  each  one  of  the  partners  is  personally  liable  for 
any  debts  made  by  any  of  the  partners  in  behalf  of  the  busi- 
ness, whereas  the  personal  possessions  of  a  stockholder  in  a 
corporation  cannot  be  held  as  security  for  any  debts  incurred 
by  the  corporation.  These  are  two  of  the  more  important 
advantages  of  corporate  organization  over  partnership. 

The  Finances  of  a  Corporation 

It  has  been  estimated  that  if  one  were  to  count  money, 
dollar  by  dollar,  one  dollar  every  second  for  eight  hours  six 
days  a  week,  it  would  take  him  six  weeks  to  count  one  mil- 
lion dollars,  and  over  one  hundred  years  to  count  a  billion 
dollars.  This  may  help  us  to  appreciate  the  sums  of  money 
spoken  of  in  the  following:  In  19 14  the  market  value  of 
the  Commonwealth  Edison  Company  of  Chicago  was  over 
$83,000,000.  The  valuation  placed  on  the  properties  of  the 
Chicago  Railways  Company  in  19 14  exceeded  $79,000,000. 
The  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  had  invested  in  its 
properties  in  1914  approximately  $500,000,000.  The  capital 
obligations  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  in  19 14 
were  over  $1,500,000,000.  There  are  hundreds  of  such  or- 
ganizations in  our  country,  the  investments  in  which  run  to 
and  beyond  $50,000,000  each.  It  must  be  plain  that,  except 
in  a  very  few  cases,  these  vast  amounts  of  money  do  not 
represent  the  investment  of  one,  or  of  a  few,  but  of  many 
persons.  In  uniting  their  capital,  these  persons  decrease  the 
cost  of  making  or  distributing  the  product  and  so  increase 
their  profits. 

Stocks 

When  a  large  company  of  this  kind  is  organized,  a  certain 
amount  of  money  is  agreed  upon  to  be  the  capital  of  the 


THE  CORPORATION  355 

company,  and  it  is  divided  into  small  portions,  ordinarily 
$100  each,  called  shares.  The  total  of  the  shares  is  called 
the  authorized  capital  stock.  These  shares  are  sold,  the  pur- 
chasers of  the  shares  being  called  shareholders,  or  stockholders , 
of  the  company.  The  number  of  shares  a  person  holds  de- 
termines what  part  of  the  profits  he  is  entitled  to.  For 
example,  if  a  company  is  organized  for  1000  shares  of  $100 
each,  or  a  capital  stock  of  $100,000,  and  you  owned  100 
shares,  you  would  be  entitled  to  one-tenth  of  the  divided 
profits  of  the  company.  Such  profits  of  the  company, 
divided  proportionately  among  the  stockholders,  constitute 
the  dividends. 

Often  the  capital  stock  is  of  two  kinds,  preferred  and 
common,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Union  Pacific  R.  R.,  which  has 
$200,000,000  of  authorized  preferred  stock  and  $296,178,700 
of  authorized  common  stock.  As  the  names  signify,  preferred 
stock  is  ordinarily  better  than  common  stock,  the  dividends 
on  preferred  stock  being  paid  before  any  dividends  are  paid  on 
common  stock  and  usually  at  a  stated  rate  of  interest;  as,  4, 
5,  or  6  per  cent.  In  the  case  of  the  Union  Pacific,  this  rate  is 
4  per  cent.  If  the  company  earns  only  enough  profits  to  pay 
the  dividends  on  the  preferred  stock,  the  common  gets  no 
dividends.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  profits  are  enormous, 
the  common  occasionally  gets  more  than  the  preferred. 

Par  and  Market  Value 

The  par  value  of  a  stock  is  the  face  value  of  one  share  of 
stock,  indicated  on  the  face  of  the  certificate.  This  may  be 
$10  or  $50  or  $100,  whatever  the  amount  agreed  upon  for  one 
share  when  the  company  is  organized.  The  amount  most 
commonly  used  as  par  is  $100.  The  market  value  of  the 
stock,  however,  need  not  be  this  amount,  but  may  be  greater 
or  less,  dependent  on  how  successful  the  company  is  and 
what  rate  of  dividends  it  pays.  If  a  company's  standing 
is  very  good  and  the  dividends  are  high  (over  6  per  cent), 


356  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

the  stock  will  probably  sell  on  the  market  above  par.  If 
the  company's  finances  are  in  a  doubtful  condition  and  there 
are  evidences  that  the  company  will  pay  small  dividends, 
if  any  at  all,  the  market  price  of  the  stock  will  fall  below 
par.  For  example,  in  January,  19 14,  Union  Pacific  R.  R. 
common  stock  sold  for  about  $158  per  share,  because  the 
finances  of  the  company  were  in  good  condition  and  the  com- 
pany had  paid  10  per  cent  dividends  steadily  each  year  since 
July  1, 1907.  If,  however,  any  occasion  should  arise  to  make 
the  public  doubt  the  payment  of  future  dividends  at  the  same 
rate,  the  stock  would  probably  decline.  To  go  to  the  other 
extreme,  in  the  same  month  Wabash  R.  R.  common  stock 
sold  as  low  as  $8|  per  share,  although  the  par  is  $100.  This 
was  because  for  some  years  the  company  had  paid  no  divi- 
dends and  was  then  in  the  hands  of  receivers.  To  take  a 
middle  case  in  the  same  month  and  year,  Erie  R.  R.  first 
preferred  stock  sold  at  about  $45  per  share,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  since  1907  no  dividends  had  been  paid.  The 
reason  for  this  seemingly  high  price  was  that  the  company 
had  for  some  time  been  reconstructing  its  property,  had 
gradually  increased  its  business,  had  earned  a  $9,000,000 
surplus  in  1913,  and  had  a  good  outlook  to  a  dividend  in 
the  near  future. 

These  are  not  the  only  influences  that  affect  the  price  of 
stocks.  The  old  factor  of  supply  and  demand  has  a  great 
influence  on  price.  If,  for  example,  a  financier  decides  to 
buy  a  large  "block''  of  some  stock,  the  market  will  almost 
immediately  be  affected,  and  that  stock  will  go  up.  One 
example  will  suffice.  In  1901  E.  H.  Harriman  set  out  to 
buy  $155,000,000  worth  of  Northern  Pacific  stock  in  the 
open  market  to  gain  control  of  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad. 
Of  course,  the  market  felt  the  demand,  and  the  price  of 
the  stock  rose  from  a  little  above  par  until  it  touched  $1,000 
a  share  before  it  started  back  to  normal.  When  Mr.  Harri- 
man unloaded  that  same  stock  in  1906,  because  he  failed 


THE  CORPORATION  357 

to  gain  control,  the  market  went  down  so  considerably  that 
he  lost  $10,000,000  and  almost  caused  a  panic. 

Often  the  stocks  of  a  company  sell  below  par  because 
the  stock  is  watered;  that  is,  the  company  has  issued  more 
stock  than  there  is  value  invested  in  the  property.  Many 
of  our  railroads,  for  example,  were  built  on  borrowed  money 
—  that  is,  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  bonds  —  and,  to 
make  the  bonds  sell  more  readily,  stocks  were  given  away 
with  them.  This,  of  course,  increased  the  capitalization 
greatly  without  increasing  the  value.  The  temptation 
in  forming  new  companies,  especially  in  mining  schemes 
and  wildcat  ventures,  is  to  water  the  stock  heavily  by  voting 
a  large  block  of  stock  gratis  to  the  organizers.  Before  one 
invests  in  any  of  these  companies,  he  should  thoroughly 
investigate  them.  Sometimes  companies  water  their  stocks 
when  their  dividends  have  become  very  large  and  they  wish 
to  bring  the  rate  down  to  that  commonly  paid.  The  Wells 
Fargo  Express  Company  did  this  in  1910,  presenting  their 
stockholders  with  $16,000,000  worth  of  new  stock  without 
any  new  investment  in  the  property. 

Bonds 

Suppose  that  A  owns  a  house  with  a  store  in  it,  and  in 
the  store  he  carries  on  a  grocery  business.  Suppose  that  by 
enlarging  his  store  and  putting  in  a  bigger  stock  of  goods  he 
can  make  more  money.  The  improvements  will  cost  $1,000, 
but  he  hasn't  the  money.  He  goes  to  B  to  ask  B  to  lend 
him  $1,000  for  five  years,  offering  B  the  house  as  security. 
B  gives  A  the  $1,000  and  in  return  gets  a  certain  amount  of 
interest  each  year  and  A's  mortgage  note  against  the  property. 
This  means  that,  if  at  the  end  of  five  years  A  cannot  pay 
the  $1,000,  B  has  the  right  to  sell  A's  house  and  collect  the 
money  due  him. 

When  a  corporation  borrows  money  to  extend  its  proper- 
ties, plants,  or  rights,  the  transaction  is  really  the  same, 


358  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

although  the  form  is  somewhat  different.  Just  as  all  the 
capital  stock  of  a  corporation  is  divided  into  shares  owned 
by  a  number  of  people,  so,  when  the  corporation  borrows 
money,  the  amount  borrowed  is  divided  into  smaller  parts  of 
$500  or  $1,000  each,  called  bonds,  which  the  corporation  sells 
through  its  bankers  to  people  who  have  idle  money  to  in- 
vest. Twice  each  year,  as  stated  in  the  bond,  the  corporation 
pays  interest  on  the  borrowed  money  at  the  rate,  probably, 
of  4,  4I,  5,  or  6  per  cent.  After  a  definite  number  of  years, 
as  stated  in  the  bond,  the  corporation  is  obliged  to  pay  back 
the  amount  of  money  that  it  borrowed.  This  is  called  re- 
deeming the  bonds.  To  show  that  it  intends  to  pay  back 
the  amount  borrowed  at  the  end  of  the  time  stated,  or  re- 
deem the  bonds  when  they  become  due,  the  corporation 
puts  a  mortgage  on  its  real  estate,  buildings,  machinery,  and 
equipment.  When  the  bonds  become  due  —  or  mature,  as  it 
is  called  —  if  the  corporation  does  not  pay  back  the  amount 
borrowed,  the  holders  of  the  bonds  may  take  possession  of 
the  company's  real  estate,  buildings,  machinery,  and  equip- 
ment on  which  the  company  has  placed  the  mortgage  and 
may  sell  them  to  recover  the  money  they  have  loaned. 
Thus,  while  the  stockholders  of  a  corporation  have  no  assur- 
ance that  they  will  ever  get  their  money  back  or  will  ever 
get  any  interest  on  it,  the  holders  of  carefully  selected  bonds 
are  reasonably  sure  of  getting  a  certain  amount  of  interest 
each  year  and  of  getting  their  money  back  when  the  bonds 
mature.  Shares  of  stock  represent  the  investment  made  by 
the  stockholders  who  own  the  company,  whereas  bonds  rep- 
resent the  investment  of  those  who  loan  money  to  the  com- 
pany. We  can  readily  see,  then,  that  the  stockholders  take 
the  greater  risk.  For  this  reason  it  is  expected  that  stocks 
should  yield  a  higher  profit  than  bonds,  and  this  is  usually 
the  case. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  bonds  that  are  issued  by  cor- 
porations run  for  long  periods  —  twenty,  forty,  fifty,  and 


THE  CORPORATION  359 

even  one  hundred  years.  At  times  when  money  rates  are 
high,  corporations  that  need  funds  are  reluctant  to  pay  a 
high  rate  for  so  many  years,  and  so  they  issue  short  time 
bonds  to  run  from  two  to  five  years,  in  the  hope  that  at 
the  end  of  the  time  money  rates  will  be  lower  and  more 
favorable  to  their  issuing  long  time  bonds.  Many  com- 
panies, especially  industrial  corporations  and  railroads,  have 
issued  obligations  to  pay,  notes  running  from  six  months  to 
five  years.  They  are  not  usually  secured  by  a  mortgage 
on  the  property  but  are  merely  the  company's  promise  to 
pay,  the  interest  and  the  principal  taking  precedence  over 
the  dividends  on  the  preferred  and  the  common  stocks. 

Corporate  Organization 

Before  a  corporation  can  carry  on  its  business,  it  must 
obtain  a  charter  from  one  of  the  states  of  the  United  States, 
whose  laws  it  must  obey.  The  laws  of  some  states  are  more 
lenient  than  those  of  others,  allowing  the  corporations  more 
privileges.  New  Jersey  is  thus  lenient;  consequently  we  find 
many  large  corporations  —  such  as  the  United  States  Steel 
Corporation,  the  American  Sugar  Refining  Company,  and 
others  —  organized  under  the  laws  of  New  Jersey.  After  the 
charter  is  granted  and  the  stock  bought  by  the  stockholders, 
the  latter  have  a  meeting,  at  which  they  elect  a  small  number 
of  men  to  be  directors,  who,  as  the  name  signifies,  conduct 
the  business  of  the  company  for  the  stockholders.  They 
choose  a  president,  one  or  more  vice-presidents,  a  treasurer, 
a  secretary,  and  any  other  officers  necessary  to  carry  on  the 
business  under  the  control  of  the  directors.  The  term  of 
office  of  the  directors  is  usually  so  fixed  that  the  term  of  a 
part  of  them  expires  each  year,  so  that  each  year  the 
stockholders  have  an  annual  meeting  at  which  they  elect 
new  directors  or  re-elect  the  old  ones  whose  term  has 
expired. 


360  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

The  Railroad 

Corporations  divide  themselves  into  three  large  groups; 
viz.,  railroad  companies,  public  utility  corporations,  and 
industrial  corporations.  Of  these,  the  group  composed  of 
the  largest  and  most  powerful  corporations  is  the  railroad 
group. 

Railroads  have  two  general  sources  of  income,  the  larger 
being  the  revenue  received  from  operating  trains,  both 
freight  and  passenger;  and  the  smaller  being  the  return 
from  investments  in  other  companies,  from  real  estate,  and 
from  the  rental  of  lines,  terminals,  stations,  and  cars  to  other 
railroads.  To  carry  on  the  second  or  smaller  part  of  its 
business,  the  company  needs  an  organization  much  like  any 
other  business,  but  to  conduct  the  first  part  it  requires  a 
special  organization.  This  divides  itself  into  four  depart- 
ments, usually  with  a  vice-president  at  the  head  of  each: 
(i)  the  traffic  department,  (2)  the  operating  department, 
(3)  the  finance  and  accounting  department,  and  (4)  the 
legal  department. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  traffic  department  to  get  the  busi- 
ness for  the  company  and  adjust  all  traffic  claims.  In 
short,  it  does  everything  to  increase  the  business  and  the 
earnings.  This  department  naturally  divides  into  the 
freight  traffic  and  passenger  traffic  departments,  with  a 
superintendent  or  manager  at  the  head  of  each. 

After  the  traffic  department  has  solicited  the  business  for 
the  company,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  operating  department  to 
render  the  services  required  by  the  traffic  department.  The 
work  is  done  by  four  large  divisions:  (i)  the  engineering 
or  construction  department,  whose  duty  it  is  to  build  the 
roads  over  which  the  company  may  operate;  (2)  the  main- 
tenance-of-way  department,  whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that  the 
roadbed  and  rails  are  kept  in  good  order  and  repair;  (3) 
the  equipment  department,  whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that  the 


THE  CORPORATION  361 

company  is  supplied  with  proper  locomotives  and  cars  and 
to  see  that  such  equipment  is  kept  in  repair;  and  (4)  the 
transportation  department,  which  has  to  do  with  the 
operating  of  the  trains. 

The  financial  policy  of  a  railroad  is  usually  in  charge  of 
one  of  the  vice-presidents,  who  must  be  a  man  of  experi- 
ence in  financial  matters  and  who  acts  with  the  approval 
of  the  directors.  The  accounting  department  is  more  im- 
portant than  may  appear  at  first  sight.  Railroads  are 
now  under  the  supervision  and  regulation  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  one  of  the  rights  that  the  government  has  is 
to  examine  the  books  of  the  company  at  any  time  and  to 
require  all  companies  to  submit  a  monthly  report  to  the 
government. 

The  legal  department  of  a  railroad  is  especially  important 
for  two  reasons:  (i)  In  performing  its  services,  the  company 
has  business  dealings  with  a  large  number  of  persons,  and 
in  the  adjustment  of  claims  against  the  railroad,  expert 
legal  advice  is  constantly  necessary.  (2)  The  railroad,  as 
stated  above,  is  under  the  regulation  and  control  of  the 
state  and  the  national  governments,  and  the  enforcement 
of  this  regulation  makes  the  railroad  a  party  to  numerous 
proceedings  in  the  courts  and  before  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission.  The  large  railroads  operate  in  from  ten 
to  twenty  states.  It  can  thus  easily  be  seen  that  the  legal 
department  has  a  great  deal  more  to  do  than  if  the  railroad 
operated  under  but  one  political  power. 

Public  Utility  Corporations 

Public  utility  corporations  supply  services  without  which 
the  people  of  to-day  could  not  very  well  live.  They  are 
those  supplying  water,  light,  heat,  power,  telephones,  local 
transportation,  gas,  etc.  They  may  properly  be  called  pubHc 
necessity    corporations.     The   nature   of   these   businesses 


362  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

practically  gives  them  a  monopoly  in  their  locality;  this  is 
the  reason  that  they  have  grown  so  enormously  during  the 
last  thirty  years.  The  Commonwealth  Edison  Company, 
which  supplies  a  large  part  of  Chicago  with  light  and 
power,  began  in  1887  with  a  capital  of  $500,000  and  in 
1 9 14  its  capital  obligations  had  a  market  value  of  over 
$83,000,000.  The  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  began  in  1885  with  $12,000,000  of  capital  stock 
and  in  1914  had  practically  $340,000,000.  The  other  public 
service  corporations  have  kept  pace,  according  to  the  growth 
of  the  locality  they  serve.  In  the  depression  of  1907  this 
class  of  corporation  kept  steadily  increasing  the  volume  of 
its  business  when  all  others  went  back  a  step.  Since  these 
corporations  are  dependent  on  the  local  community  for 
their  business,  if  the  community  grows  the  company  must 
grow,  and  usually  faster  than  the  community.  For  this 
reason  the  stocks  and  bonds  of  these  companies  are  usually 
a  good  investment. 

It  is  a  common  practice  for  municipalities  to  demand  a 
share  of  the  profits  of  the  company,  by  way  of  a  fixed 
sum,  a  certain  percentage  of  the  gross  profits,  or  a  share 
of  the  net  profits.  For  example  the  city  of  Chicago  receives, 
from  the  Commonwealth  Edison  Company  each  year  3  per 
cent  of  its  gross  receipts  from  the  sale  of  current  and  10 
per  cent  of  its  gross  receipts  from  the  rental  of  conduit  space, 
amounting  in  19 13  to  more  than  $300,000,  quite  a  consid- 
erable sum.  The  Chicago  Railways  Company  and  the 
Chicago  City  Railway  Company,  the  two  large  street  car 
companies  of  Chicago,  after  deductions  for  expenses  and 
charges  and  5  per  cent  on  the  amount  invested  are  made 
from  the  gross  income,  pay  to  the  city  55  per  cent  of  the 
surplus  earnings,  keeping  for  themselves  45  per  cent. 
Whenever  these  companies  pay  part  of  their  earnings  to 
the  municipality,  they  are  really  under  municipal  super- 
vision, and  their  books  and  accounts  are  open  to  examina- 


THE  CORPORATION  363 

tion  by  the  city  at  any  time.     These  companies  are  called 
quasi-municipal  corporations. 

Industrial  Corporations 

As  the  name  indicates,  industrial  corporations  are  those 
that  carry  on  our  industries.  They  are  by  far  the  largest 
class  of  corporations  and  have  among  their  number  some 
very  powerful  companies,  whose  assets  run  up  toward  the 
billions.  This  class  of  corporations  has  not  had  the  gradual, 
steady  growth  of  the  public  utility  corporations,  but  in  the 
case  of  the  most  successful,  the  growth  has  been  amazing. 
The  Standard  Oil  Company  for  many  years  prior  to  its  dis- 
solution had  paid  dividends  on  its  capital  stock  of  about 
$100,000,000  at  the  rate  of  40  per  cent  a  year.  The  Steel 
Corporation  is  said  to  have  produced  a  thousand  millionaires 
and  is  still  producing  them.  This  class  of  corporations  has 
not  been  so  closely  under  the  supervision  of  the  federal  and 
municipal  authorities  as  the  railroads  and  public  utility  cor- 
porations, and  their  financing  has  been  carried  on  in  a  looser 
fashion  than  that  of  the  other  two  classes.  For  this  reason 
the  securities  of  these  corporations  are  not  generally  regarded 
as  highly  as  those  of  the  other  two.  However,  the  federal 
government  has  taken  and  is  taking  steps  to  regulate  these 
corporations,  and  this  will  tend  to  bring  them  eventually  to 
the  standards  of  the  railroad  and  public  utility  corporations. 

Exercise  307 

Oral 
Explain  carefully: 

1.  What  is  a  corporation? 

2.  What  is  a  share  of  stock? 

3.  What  is  a  bond?  a  security? 

4.  Explain  the  difference  between  par  and  market  values. 

5.  Why  do  stocks  and  bonds  vary  in  value? 


364  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

6.  What  is  the  difference  between  preferred  and  common 
stock? 

7.  What  are  dividends? 

8.  What  is  meant  by  watered  stock? 

9.  What  are  the  advantages  of  a  corporation  over  a  partner- 
ship? 

10.  The  following  was  copied  from  a  morning  paper.  Explain 
it. 

"The  Canadian  Westinghouse  Company,  Ltd.,  declared  its 
regular  quarterly  dividend  of  i|%  and  an  extra  dividend  of  1% 
on  its  stock,  both  payable  Jan.  10.'' 

11.  Explain  the  following  bond  quotations: 

Municipal  Bonds 

Security  Maturity  Yield  per  cent  about 

Albany,  Ga.,  5's  Nov.  i,  1941  4.75 

King  Co.,  Wash.,  4j's  Nov.  i,  193 1  4.50 

Railroad  Bonds 
Atchison,  Topeka,  &  Santa 

F6,  general  mortgage,  4's  Oct.  i,  1995  4.20 

Louisville  and  Nashville, 

unified  mortgage,  4's  Feb.  i,  1946         .  4.35 

Public  Service  Corporation  Bonds 

New  York  Telephone  Co.,  4's  Nov.  i,  1939  4.75 

Chicago  Railways,  first 

mortgage,  5's  Feb.  i,  1927  4.99 

12.  Why  are  the  bonds  of  successful  public  utility  corporations 
a  good  investment? 

13.  Which  company  do  you  think  would  grow  faster,  a  light  and 
power  company  or  a  gas  company?  What  effect  would  the  growth 
or  the  failure  to  grow  have  on  the  price  of  the  stocks  of  each? 

14.  Should  a  street  car  company  pay  part  of  its  earnings  to 
the  city? 

15.  If  the  population  of  a  city  doubled,  what  effect  would 
there  be  on  the  price  of  public  utility  stocks? 


THE  CORPORATION  365 

Exercise  308 
Topics  for  Investigation  and  Discussion 

1.  Harnessing  our  streams  to  secure  electric  power. 

2.  The  growth  of  the  Interurban. 

3.  In  your  own  town: 

a.  Have  gas  rates  increased  or  decreased?  Can  you  ex- 
plain the  change? 

h.  Have  electric  light  rates  increased  or  decreased?  Can 
you  explain  the  change? 

4.  Street  railway,  electric  light,  and  gas  company  franchises. 

5.  The  earnings  of  the  street  car  company  in  your  city. 

6.  Municipal  ownership  of  public  utility  corporations. 

7.  The  effect  of  mergers  and  consolidations  of  big  corporations. 

8.  The  effect  of  a  trust  on  competition. 

9.  Trusts  and  prices. 

10.  Government  suits  against  trusts. 

11.  The  tariff  and  the  steel  industry,  the  wool  industry,  and 
the  sugar  industry. 

12.  Railroad  rate  increases. 

Exercise  309 
Write  the  following  from  dictation: 


In  New  London,  Connecticut,  stands  the  oldest  grist  mill  in  the 
country.  It  is  a  picturesque  building,  having  a  water  wheel  Hke 
the  one  that  it  originally  used  when  New  London  was  first  settled. 
The  town  was  in  the  center  of  an  agricultural  community, 
and  a  mill  to  grind  corn  was  a  need  that  soon  manifested  itself 
to  the  settlers.  Accordingly,  in  1650  at  a  town  meeting,  six 
men  were  chosen  to  build  a  mill.  John  Winthrop  and  his  heirs 
were  granted  the  right  to  carry  on  the  grist  mill  as  long  as  they 
maintained  the  building  placed  in  their  charge.  This  is  one  of 
the  first  monopolies  recorded  in  New  England  history. 


The  same  standards  by  which  a  farming  or  a  manufacturing 
investment  may  be  judged  are  not  applicable  to  a  mining  invest- 
ment. A  farmer  may  earn  eight  per  cent  on  his  capital,  and  with 
care  his  investment  may  increase  in  value.     A  manufacturer 


366  BUSINESS  PRACTICE 

may  earn  eight  per  cent  on  his  investment,  and,  if  he  keeps  up  his 
machinery,  his  business  may  be  as  valuable  ten  years,  or  even 
twenty  years,  hence;  but  a  mine,  after  each  dividend  is  paid,  is 
that  much  nearer  its  end.  Now,  it  is  well  known  among  mining 
men  that  the  average  life  of  a  gold  or  silver  mine  is  under,  rather 
than  over,  ten  years.  There  are  exceptions  to  this  rule,  of  course, 
but,  granting  that  the  life  of  a  certain  gold  or  silver  mine  is  to  be 
ten  years,  then,  in  order  to  pay  back  both  principal  and  interest, 
dividends  of  at  least  sixteen  per  cent  should  be  distributed.  Cop- 
per mining,  of  which  the  statistics  have  been  most  accurately 
kept  in  New  York  and  Boston,  offers  many  inducements  to  the 
investor;  but  too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  in  the  matter  of 
selection,  for  copper  stocks,  in  not  a  few  instances,  have  been 
boosted  out  of  all  reason.  As  with  gold  and  silver  mines,  so  it 
is  with  copper  mines.  They  have  so  much  ore  to  begin  with,  and 
after  each  dividend  are  that  much  nearer  to  the  day  when  they 
will  close  down.  For  such  mines,  provided  they  have  a  good 
lease  of  life,  eight  per  cent  or  even  ten  per  cent  may  be  regarded 
as  only  moderate  returns.  These  are  merely  samples  of  some 
general  principles  to  be  followed.  —  Roger  W.  Babson. 

Dear  Sir;  ^ 

At  the  close  of  a  year  which  has  presented  many  perplexing 
problems,  not  only  to  investors  and  dealers  in  bonds,  but  also  to 
borrowing  municipalities  and  corporations,  there  are  several 
factors  in  the  situation  which  in  our  opinion  offer  strong  encour- 
agement to  every  one  in  any  way  interested  in  bond  investments. 

Of  special  significance  is  the  marked  change  in  sentiment  which 
has  recently  taken  place.  There  is  every  indication  that  this 
country  enters  the  new  year  with  an  unusually  substantial  feel- 
ing of  confidence.  While  a  notable  increase  in  the  demand 
for  bonds  would  undoubtedly  bring  out  a  large  amount  of  new 
financing,  on  the  other  hand,  there  has  been  an  accumulation 
of  funds  during  the  period  of  depressed  markets,  and  it  is  gen- 
erally understood  that  investment  dealers  are  carrying  compara- 
tively small  amounts  of  bonds. 

January  has  an  almost  unbroken  record  of  higher  average  bond 
prices  than  the  average  prices  in  December.  It  is  not  our  inten- 
tion to  predict  an  advance  this  January,  although  there  are  un- 
questionably many  reasons  for  anticipating  at  least  a  moderate 
improvement;  but,  viewing  the  question  in  its  broader  aspects, 
we  find  many  convincing  arguments  in  favor  of  the  purchase  of 


THE  CORPORATION  367 

bonds  at  this  time.  It  is  recognized  that  the  decline  in  prices 
has  been  due  to  a  variety  of  causes,  which,  except  in  a  few  indi- 
vidual cases,  are  not  the  result  of  any  depreciation  in  real  values. 
Basic  conditions  are  admittedly  sound.  We,  accordingly,  not 
only  recommend  the  judicious  purchase  of  bonds  for  the  invest- 
ment of  surplus  funds,  but  also  suggest  consideration  of  the  ad- 
visability in  some  cases  of  converting  short  time  securities  into 
.  long  time  bonds. 

What  conditions  could  be  more  favorable  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  purchaser  of  bonds  than  an  extremely  low  level  of  prices; 
a  wide-spread  belief  that  fundamental  conditions  are  sound;  a 
general  feeling  of  confidence  that  the  problems  which  have  tended 
to  disturb  business  during  the  past  year  have  been,  or  are  being, 
solved;  and  a  conviction  •  that  we  are  entering  upon  a  period  of 
probable  ease  in  money  rates? 

Very  truly  yours. 


INDEX 


Numbers  refer  to  pages 


A,  Italian,  9. 

Abbreviation,   objectionable,   of  the 

introduction  of  a  letter,  242;  of  the 

courteous  close,  242. 
Abbreviations,  of  states,   26-27;    of 

commercial  terms,  27-28;   of  titles 

in  letters,  235;  objectionable  in  the 

body  of  the  letter,  242. 
AhU  and  ihle,  2>2>' 
Absolute  use  of  the  nominative  case, 

65. 

Abstract  noun,  defined,  57. 

Accent,  indication  of,  17;  words  chang- 
ing meaning  with  change  of,  17. 

Accept  and  except,  102. 

Account,  opening  an,  250;  letters  for 
opening  an,  250  fif. 

Accounting  department  of  a  railroad, 
work  of  the,  360-361. 

Active  voice  of  verbs,  defined,  84; 
conjugation  of,  88  flf. 

Ady  prefix,  32. 

Adjective,  the,  defined,  49;  and  the 
adverb,  75  ff.;  following  verbs  of 
the  senses,  75;  clause,  54;  com- 
parison of,  78. 

Adjective  endings,  pecuUar,  2>2>  ff- 

Adjective  modifiers,  49. 

Adjective  pronouns,  use  of,  61.  • 

Adjectives  and  adverbs,  confused,  51; 
incorrectly  used,  81-82;  real  and 
very,  81;  most  and  almost,  81. 

Adjectives,  punctuation  of  series  of, 
171  ff. 

Adjectives  to  be  distinguished,  80- 
81;  fewer  and  less,  80;  almost  and 
most,  81. 

Adverb  modifiers,  49. 

Adverb,  the,  defined,  49;  and  the 
adjective,  75  ff. 

Adverbial,  clause,  54;  modifier,  case 
of,  66. 


Adverbs,  conjunctive,  45;  and  ad- 
jectives confused,  51;  and  preposi- 
tions confused,  52;  ideas  denoted 
by,  75;  modifying  different  parts 
of  speech,  75;  correct  position  of, 
77;  absolute  use  of,  79;  incorrectly 
used,  81-82. 

Advertised  articles,  classes  of,  311. 

Advertisements,  motives  appealed  to 
in,  311;  catch  phrases  used  in, 
312;  suggestive  names  used  in, 
313;  good  and  bad  headlines  for, 
313;  of  still-life,  314;  without  a 
definite  center,  315;  illustrating 
the  principle  of  balance,  315;  exer- 
cises to  write,  315  ff.;  paragraph 
topics  dealing  with,  317  ff.;  some 
examples  of,  318  ff. 

Advertising,  308  ff.;  importance  of, 
308;  different  forms  of,  309-310; 
fundamentals  of,  3 10-31 1;  outline 
for  debate  on,  141  ff.;  bibliography 
for,  320. 

Afect  and  efect,  102-103. 

Afi&rmative  of  debate  on  advertising, 
141  ff. 

After,  as  preposition  and  conjunction, 
55- 

Agent,  134,  299-300;  commission  of, 
323. 

Agreement,  grammatical,  71-72,  85 
ff. 

Amusement,  motive  appealed  to  in 
advertising,  311. 

Analysis,  word,  29  ff. 

Ance  and  ence,  34. 

And,  in  compound  sentence,  45, 
173  ff.;  in  series,  punctuation 
with,  171  ff.;  used  in  joining 
parallel  expressions,  211  ff.;  for 
to,  119;  excessive  use  of,  127- 
128. 


37° 


INDEX 


Anglo-Saxon  prefixes  and  suffixes, 
29  ff. 

Answering  complaints,  letters  to  be 
used  in,  257  ff. 

Ant  and  ent,  S3- 

Antecedents,  uncertain,  207  ff. 

Apostrophe,  the,  used  to  form  the 
possessive  case,  67,  69,  159;  used  to 
indicate  the  omission  of  letters, 
160;  to  show  plural  of  letters  and 
figures,  160. 

Appeals  made  in  advertisements, 
311-312. 

Application,  letters  of,  259  ff. 

Appositives,  case  of,  65,  66;  punctua- 
tion with,  179-180. 

Article,  incorrect  omission  of  in 
business  letters,  242. 

As,  case  following,  121;  a  conjunction, 
124;  followed  by  an  understood 
verb,  124;  punctuation  with,  195. 

As  —  as,  used  in  expressions  stating 
equality,  125. 

As  follows,  punctuation  with,  195. 

Alias,  story  of  the  derivation  of,  5. 

Authorized  capital  stock,  355. 

Baby  blunder,  44. 

Balance,  principle  of,  used  in  adver- 
tisements, 315. 

Bank  draft,  341-343. 

Banking:  inconvenience  of  barter, 
332;  kinds  of  paper  money,  332- 
SSS;  credit,  333;  discount,  335; 
collateral,  335;  promissory  note, 
336;  forms  of  remittance,  338  ff.; 
letters  pertaining  to,  345  ff.;  topics 
for  investigation  and  discussion, 
349-350;  bibliography  for,  350; 
dictation  exercises  on,  350  ff. 

Banks,  departments  of,  333;  of 
deposit,  334  ff.;  savings,  334,  336 
ff.;  trust  companies,  334,  337  ff. 

Be,  conjugation,  indicative,  104; 
subjunctive,  112;  used  to  form 
progressive  tenses,  88  ff.,  105;  used 
to  form  passive  voice,  105  ff. 

Before,  used  as  preposition  and  con- 
junction, 55. 

Beg  to  state,  243. 

Bibliography,  on  manufacture,  280; 
on  distribution,  304-305;  on  ad- 
vertising, 320;   on  banking,  350. 


Bill  of  lading,  285;  straight  or  order » 
285. 

Blunder,  baby,  44. 

Body  of  the  letter,  232. 

Bonds,  357  ff.;  redemption  of,  358; 
maturity  of,  358;  long  period,  358; 
short  time,  358. 

Breve,  9. 

Brevity  in  business  letters,  mistaken 
for  conciseness,  199. 

Business  letters,  2295.;  essentials  of, 
230;  the  form  of,  231;  the  arrange- 
ment of,  232;  cautions  in  writing, 
235  ff.;  directions  for  folding,  238; 
to  order  goods,  239;  the  tone  of, 
240;  mistaken  ideas  in  writing, 
241  ff.;  to  make  sales,  244;  to 
accompany  a  catalogue,  245  ff.; 
to  open  an  account,  250;  to  make 
collections,  253  ff.;  to  answer 
complaints,  257  ff.;  applying  for 
positions,  259  ff.;  form,  264;  cir- 
cular and  follow-up,  264  ff. 

Business  news,  to  suggest  topics  for 
talks,  155. 

Business  thinking,  importance  of,  2. 

c  and  g,  pronunciation  of,  24. 

Can  and  may,  102. 

Capital  stock,  explained,  353;  pre- 
ferred, 355;  common,  355;  par 
and  market  values  of,  355  ff. 

Capitals,  use  of,  160  ff. 

Caret,  the,  9. 

Carriers,  common,  284. 

Case,  defined,  64;  nominative,  64  ff.; 
objective,  64,  66;  possessive,  64, 
67;  exercise  in,  70  ff.;  following 
prepositions,  66,  119. 

Cause  and  effect,  paragraphs  de- 
veloped by,  223. 

Caution,  its  appeal  in  advertising, 
311-312. 

Cautions  in  writing  business  letters, 
235  ff. 

Cede,  ceed,  sede,  34. 

Certificate,  the  gold,  332;  the  silver, 
332. 

Certified  check,  the,  339-340. 

Check,  the,  338  ff.;  personal,  339; 
certified,  339-340. 

Choosing  subjects,  suggestions  for, 
146  ff. 


INDEX 


371 


Cion,  sion,  Hon,  34. 

Cious,  tious,  ss- 

Circular  letters,  264  ff. 

Class  paper,  suggestions  for  a,  156. 

Classes  of  advertisements,  311. 

Clause,  the,  defined,  42;  principal, 
42;  subordinate,  42;  incorrectly 
used  as  a  sentence,  45;  introduc- 
tory words  for,  54;  adjective,  54; 
adverb,  54;  noun,  54,  modifiers, 
54;  introduced  by  than  or  as,  121; 
initial,  punctuation  of,  176;  re- 
strictive and  non-restrictive,  59- 
60;  punctuation  of  relative,  185 
ff.;  coming  at  the  end  of  the  sen- 
tence, punctuation  of,  188-189; 
incomplete,  205-206;  misplaced, 
209  ff. 

Clauses,  punctuation  of  series  of, 
171  ff. 

Clear  title  to  property,  explained, 
322. 

Clearing  house,  daily  routine  of, 
350-351- 

Clearness  of  the  sentence,  mistakes 
that  prevent:  dangling  expres- 
sions, 205  ff.;  pronouns  with  un- 
certain antecedents,  207  ff.;  mis- 
placed modifiers,  209-210;  omis- 
sion of  necessary  words,  210-21 1; 
shift  of  construction,  211  ff. 

Close,  courteous,  of  business  letters, 
232,  237. 

Coherence  between  sentences,  127- 
128;  224  ff.;  between  paragraphs, 
224  ff. 

Collateral,  335-336. 

Collection  letters,  253  ff. 

Collective  noun,  defined,  57. 

Colon,  use  of  the,  194. 

Colonization,  307. 

Combination  of  short  sentences  to 
secure  unity,  202  ff. 

Comfort,  its  appeal  in  advertising, 
311-312. 

Comma  fault,  the,  44  ff. 

Comma,  use  of  the,  in  direct  quota- 
tions, 163  ff.;  in  series,  171  ff.; 
in  compound  sentences,  45,  173 
ff.;  to  set  off  initial  clauses  or 
participial  phrases,  175  ff.;  to 
separate  the  month  from  the  year, 
etc.,  178;   to  indicate  the  omission 


of  words,  178;  to  set  off  apposi- 
tives,  179  ff.;  to  set  off  parentheti- 
cal expressions,  180  ff.;  to  set  off 
independent  elements,  182  ff.;  to 
set  off  non-restrictive  clauses,  185 
ff.;  to  set  off  modifiers  coming  at 
the  end  of  the  sentence,  188  ff. 

Command  used  in  good  headlines  of 
advertisements,  313. 

Commercial  department  of  a  bank 
333- 

Commercial  terms,  abbreviations  of, 
27-28. 

Commission,  agent's,  323. 

Common  carriers,  284. 

Common  noun,  defined,  57. 

Common  stock,  355. 

Companies,  kinds  of,  273. 

Company,  the  steamship,  284;  the 
railroad,  284  ff.  (See  Corporation^ 
353  ff.) 

Comparative  degree,  of  adjectives, 
78;   of  adverbs,  79. 

Comparison  and  contrast,  paragraphs 
developed  by,  223. 

Comparison,  of  adjectives,  78;  of 
adverbs,  79;    negative,  125. 

Complaint,  letters  answering,  257  ff. 

Complement,  subjective,  65 

Complex  sentence,  defined,  42. 

Composition,  oral  and  written,  127  ff. 

Compound  nouns,  plural  of,  20. 

Compound  relatives,  59. 

Compound  sentence,  defined,  42; 
punctuation  of,  45,  173  ff. 

Con,  prefix,  32. 

Conciseness  of  expression,  199. 

Condensation  to  secure  clearness, 
200 

Conjugation,  of  write,  active  voice, 
88  ff.;  of  be,  104  ff.;  of  follow, 
passive  voice,  105  ff. 

Conjunction,  and  the  preposition, 
116  ff. 

Cbnjunctions.  Coordinate,  45;  punc- 
tuation with,  45,  173  ff.;  distin- 
guished from  conjunctive  adverbs, 
45.  Subordinate,  list  of,  54; 
than  and  as,  121.  Correlative, 
122. 

Conjunctive  adverbs,  45;  distin- 
guished from  coordinate  conjunc- 
tions, 45;   punctuation  with,  45. 


372 


INDEX 


Connection,  smooth,  127-128,  224 
ff.;  methods  of  securing,  224  ff. 

Conservation,  191-192. 

Consignee,  285. 

Consonant,  final,  doubling  of,  22; 
silent,  words  containing,  11. 

Construction,  letters  dealing  with 
contract  for,  263;   shift  of,  211. 

Contract,  letters  deaUng  with,  for 
painting  iron-work,  262;  for  the 
delivery  of  property,  263;  for 
construction,  263. 

Contraction,  apostrophe  used  with, 
160. 

Coordinate  conjunctions,  45;  punc- 
tuation with,  45,  173  ff. 

Coordinate  expressions,  122  ff. 

Copulative  verbs,  defined,  83. 

Corporate  organization,  359. 

Corporation,  the,  353  ff.;  finances  of, 
354;  capital  stock  of,  354  ff.; 
dividends  of,  355;  stockholders  of, 
355 ;  bonds  of,  357  ff.;  organiza- 
tion of,  359;  directors  of,  359; 
railroad,  360-361;  public  utility, 
361-362;  industrial,  363;  topics 
for  investigation  and  discussion 
on,  365;  dictation  exercises .  on, 
365  ff. 

Correlatives,  defined,  122;  correct 
position  of  with  coordinate  expres- 
sions, 122-123;  either  —  or  and 
neither  —  nor,  123. 

Cost     of     hving,      paragraph     on, 

173. 
Cotton  seed,  paragraph  on,  176. 
Cotton   in   the   Soudan,    paragraph, 

181. 
Could  and  might,  102. 
Courteous  close,  in  business  letters, 

232,  237. 
Courtesy  in  business  letters,  231,  240. 
Credit,  333. 
Credit  letters,  250  ff. 
Currency,  bill,  333;    legislation,  333, 

349. 
Current  events,  to  suggest  subjects 
for  talks,  155. 

Dangling  expressions,  205  ff. 

Dash,  use  of,  195  ff.;   too  free  use  of 

in  business  letters,  243,  247. 
Dead  letter  sale,  190. 


Debate,  outline  for  a,  141  ff.;  sub- 
jects for,  139  ff-,  144;  on  manufac- 
ture, suggestions  for,  275;  on 
distribution,  290,  302. 

Debating,  137  ff.;  proposition  for, 
137;  six  rules  for,  137  ff.;  false 
conclusions  in,  138;  irrelevant 
matter  in,  138. 

Declarative  sentence,  defined,  41. 

Declension  of  pronouns,  personal, 
58;  relative,  59;  interrogative,  60. 

Deed,  322. 

Degrees  of  comparison,  78-79. 

Demonstrative  pronouns,  60. 

Departments,  of  banks,  333;  of 
railroads,  360. 

Deposit,  banks  of,  334;  slip,  334. 

Details,  explanatory,  necessary  to 
secure  interest,  147;  paragraphs 
developed  by,  222. 

Development  of  paragraphs,  methods 
of,  222-223. 

dg,  words  containing,  25. 

Diacritical  marks,  8,  lo. 

Diaeresis,  9. 

Dialogue,  paragraphing  in,  168  ff. 

Dictation  exercises,  for  series,  171; 
for  compound  sentences,  173-174; 
for  initial  clauses  or  participial 
phrases,  176;  for  parenthetical 
expressions,  180-181;  for  independ- 
ent elements,  182-183;  for  non- 
restrictive  relative  clauses,  186; 
for  the  semicolon,  193-194;  on 
manufacture,  280-281;  on  distribu- 
tion, 305  ff.;  on  real  estate,  329 
ff.;  on  banking,  350  ff.;  on  cor- 
porations, 365  ff. 

Direct  discourse,  163  ff.;  use  of 
comma  in,  170. 

Directors  of  corporations,  359. 

Discount,  335. 

Discourse,  direct,  163  ff.;  indirect, 
166  ff. 

Discussion  and  investigation  topics, 
on  manufacture,  278-279;  on  dis- 
tribution, 304;  on  real  estate,  327; 
on  banking,  349-350;  on  the  cor- 
poration, 365. 

Dishwasher,  letters  to  sell  a,  265  ff. 

Distribution.  Transportation  an  es- 
sential element,  283  ff.;  the  steam- 
ship company,    284;   the  railroad 


INDEX 


373 


company,  284  £F.;  the  retail 
merchant,  286  ff.;  the  whole- 
sale merchant,  291  fif.;  the  mail 
order  merchant,  295  ff.;  the  sales- 
man, 298  ff.;  suggestions  for  de- 
bates, 302;  subjects  for  para- 
graphs, 303  ff.;  topics  for  investi- 
gation and  discussion,  304;  bibli- 
ography, 304  &.;  dictation  exer- 
cises, 305  ff. 

Dividends,  355. 

Dividing  a  subject  into  its  natural 
divisions,  149  ff. 

Dot,  9. 

Double  relative,  59. 

Doubling  final  consonants,  rule  for,  22. 

Draft,  bank,  341  ff.;  tiiie,  343-344; 
sight,  344-345- 

Dropping  of  final  e,  22,  25. 

Druggist,  outline  of  advertising 
letters  sent  by,  268-269. 

Durability,  its  appeal  in  advertising, 
311-312. 

E,  final,  retained,  25. 

Early  monopoly,  an,  365. 

Economy,  its  appeal  in  advertising, 
311-312. 

Effect  and  affect,  102. 

Efficiency,  office,  217;  stenographic, 
217. 

ei  or  ie,  24. 

Either  —  or,  123. 

Electric  washing  machine,  outline  of 
letters  to  sell,  269. 

Elements,  independent,  case  of,  65; 
punctuation  of,  182. 

Emphatic  pronouns,  59. 

Emulation,  its  appeal  in  advertising, 
311-312. 

ence  and  ance,  34. 

Endings,  peculiar  adjective,  33; 
peculiar  noun  and  verb,  34. 

Endorsing  a  check,  methods  of,  340. 

English,  oral,  i,  127  ff.;  written,  i. 
(See  Punctuation,  The  Clear  Sen- 
tence, Business  Letters.) 

ent,  ss. 

Enthusiasm  in  business,  230. 

eous,  ss. 

Essentials,  of  a  sales  letter,  230;  in 
manufacture,  272-273;  of  an  ad- 
vertisement, 3 10-31 1. 


Every,  number  of,  86. 

Examples  and  illustrations,  para- 
graphs developed  by,  222. 

Examples  of  advertisements,  318  ff. 

Except,  a  preposition,  124;  incor- 
rectly used  as  a  conjunction,  124. 

Except  and  accept,  102. 

Exclamation  mark,  use  of,  162. 

Exclamatory  sentence,  defined,  41. 

Explanatory  details,  paragraphs  de- 
veloped by,  222. 

Explanatory  expressions,  punctua- 
tion of,  179  ff.  Appositives,  179; 
parenthetical  expressions,  180;  in- 
dependent elements,  182;  explana- 
tory relative  clauses,  punctuation 
of,  185;  subordinate  elements 
coming  at  the  end  of  the  sentence, 
188. 

Exports  in  cattle,  paragraph  on,  76. 

Express  money  order,  340-341. 

Expression,  conciseness  of,  199; 
variety  of,  in. 

/  and  fe,  plurals  of  nouns  ending  in, 
19. 

False  conclusions  in  debating,  137- 
138. 

Farm  lands,  325  ff.;  outline  of  letters 
to  sell,  267-268;  letters  pertaining 
to,  325  ff.;  topics  for  investigation 
and  discussion  on,  327;  dictation 
exercises  on,  329  ff. 

Farm  reform,  329. 

Farming  specials,  330. 

Favor,  your  esteemed,  and  similar  ex- 
pressions, to  avoid,  243. 

Fee  simple,  322.  , 

Fewer  and  less,  80. 

Figures,  plural  of,  20,  160. 

Final  consonant,  rule  for  doubling, 
22. 

Final  e,  dropped,  22,  25;  retained, 
25-26. 

Finance  department  of  a  railroad, 
360-361. 

Finances  of  a  corporation,  354. 

Fly,  flow,  flee,  loi. 

Folding  a  letter,  directions  for,  238. 

Follow,  conjugation  of  in  the  passive 
voice,  105  ff.;  synopsis  of,  passive, 
106. 

Following,  the,  punctuation  after,  195. 


374 


INDEX 


Follow-up  letter,  the,  264  S. 

For,  as  preposition  and  conjunction, 

55. 
Foreclosing  a  mortgage,  322. 
Foreign  plurals,  21. 
Foreign  news,  to  suggest  subjects  for 

talks,  155. 
For  example,  punctuation  with,  195. 
For  instance,  punctuation  with,  195. 
Form  letter,  the,  264. 
Form  of  the  business  letter,  231. 
Formation,  of  participles,  21  fif.;    of 

possessive  case,  67;    of  infinitives, 

no. 
Freight  bill,  286. 
Freight,  receipt  for,  285. 
Furniture,  outline  of  letters 'to  sell, 

269. 
Future  tense,  88  ff.;   progressive,  89; 

perfect,  90. 

G,  pronunciation  of,  24. 
Gas  mantles,  paragraph  on,  280-281. 
Gold  certificates,  332. 
Good  and  bad  headlines  in  advertise- 
ments, 313-314. 
Government's  Laundry,  the,  173-174. 
Greek  roots,  30. 

Had  ought,  103. 

"Hammock"  paragraph,  216. 

Have  and  of,  119. 

Heading  of  the  business  letter,  232, 

235- 
Headhnes   of   advertisements,    good 

and  bad,  313-314. 
Health,    its    appeal    in    advertising, 

311-312. 
Herculean,  5. 
Homonyms,  14-15. 
How  to  advance,  paragraph  on,  177. 
Hoping  and  similar  expressions,   to 

avoid,  242-243. 
Hyphen,  use  of,  196. 

Ible,  33. 

Ideas,  mistaken,  in  letter  writing, 
241  ff. 

ie  or  ei,  24. 

Illustrations  and  examples,  para- 
graphs developed  by,  222. 

Imperative  sentence,  defined,  41. 


In,  prefix,  33. 

Income  of  railroads,  360. 

Incorrectly  used,  nouns  and  pro- 
nouns, 73-74;  adjectives  and  ad- 
verbs, 81-82;  verbs,  114-115; 
prepositions,  11 8-1 19. 

Indefinite  it  or  they,  207  ff. 

Indefinite  pronouns,  61;  used  as 
adjectives,  61. 

Independent  elements,  case  of,  65; 
punctuation  of,  182. 

Indicative  mode,  defined,  112;  oi  be, 
112. 

Indirect  discourse,  166  ff. 

Indirect  object,  66. 

Industrial  corporations,  363. 

Industry,  273P. 

Infinitive,  defined,  109;  tenses  and 
voices  of,   no;  split,  77,  209. 

Initial  clause  or  participial  phrase, 
punctuation  of,  176. 

Insurance,  327  ff.;  letters  pertaining 
to,  328  ff. 

Insurance  and  real  estate,  321  ff. 

Interesting  words,  i  ff. 

Interjection,  49;   0,  161. 

Interrogation  mark,  use  of,  162; 
position  of  with  quotation  marks, 
163  ff. 

Interrogative  pronouns,  declined,  60. 

Interrogative  sentence,  41. 

Intransitive  verb,  83. 

Introduction  of  the  letter,  232,  235- 
236. 

Investigation  and  discussion,  topics 
for,  on  manufacture,  278-279;  on 
distribution,  304;  on  real  estate, 
327;  on  banking,  349-350;  on  the 
corporation,  365. 

Investments,  mining,  365-366. 

Investors,  184,  185. 

ious,  33. 

Irregular  plurals  of  nouns,  19. 

Irregular  verbs,  principal  parts  of,  95 
ff. 

ise,  ize,  yze,  34. 

//  used  indefinitely,  207  ff. 

Italic,  derivation  of,  3. 

Itahan  a,  9. 

Its  and  it's,  160  ff. 

k,  insertion  of,  25. 
Kindly,  abuse  of,  243. 


INDEX 


375 


Labor,  274. 

Local  news,  to  suggest  subjects  for 
talks,  155. 

Land  business,  the,  325  ff. 

Latin-American  trade,  the,  306. 

Latin  prefixes  and  suffixes,  31. 

Lay  and  lie,  loo-ioi. 

Learn  and  teach,  loi. 

Lease,  321. 

Least,  used  in  the  superlative  degree, 
78. 

Legal  department  of  a  railroad,  360- 
361. 

Length  of  good  headlines  in  advertise- 
ments, 313. 

Less  and  fewer,  80. 

Letter  beginnings,  240,  247,  248-249. 

Letter,  to  investors,  47;  to  accom- 
pany a  style  book,  172;  to  sell  a 
trip  on  the  water,  183-184;  to  sell 
a  house  coat,  221-222;  ordering 
goods,  239;  from  A.  Lincoln  to  Mrs. 
Bixby,  240-241;  to  accompany  a 
catalogue,  245  ff.;  to  sell  cheese, 
246;  to  sell  hinged  paper,  247-248; 
to  open  an  account,  250-251; 
credit,  251-252;  requesting  pay- 
ment, 254  ff.;  answering  a  com- 
plaint, 257-258;  of  appUcation, 
260-261;  follow-up,  265  ff.;  from 
a  bank,  soliciting  a  trust  (to  be 
punctuated),  348-349;  market, 
366. 

Letters,  plurals  of,  20. 

Letters,  business,  in  the  manufac- 
turing business,  276  ff.;  in  the 
retail  business,  287  ff.;  in  the 
wholesale  business,  292  ff.;  in 
the  mail  order  business,  295  ff.;  to 
help  the  salesman,  301;  pertaining 
to  banking,  345  ff.  (See  Business 
letters,  Letter.) 

Lie  diVid  lay,  lOO-ioi. 

Like,  followed  by  the  objective  case, 
124. 

Loose  and  lose,  103. 

Lose  and  loose,  103. 

Luck  and  labor,  paragraph  on, 
174. 

Macron,  the,  9. 

Magazine  advertising,  311  ff. 

Mail  order  business,  the,  295  ff. 


Manufacture,  270  ff.;  essentials  in, 
272-273;  subjects  for  themes  on, 
27s;  suggestions  for  debates  on, 
275;   letters  in,  276  ff.;   topics  for 

investigation   and   discussions  on, 
278    ff.;     bibliography    for,    280; 

dictation  exercises  in,  280  ff. 
Market  letter,  366. 
Market  value,  355  ff. 
Marks,  diacritical,  7;    question,  162; 

quotation,  163  ff. 
Materials,  raw,  274. 
Maturity  of  bonds,  358,  364. 
May  and  can,  102. 
Merchant,    the   retail,    286   ff.;    the 

wholesale,  291  ff.;  the  mail  order, 

295  ff. 
Methods  of  endorsing  a  check,  340. 
Might  and  could,  102. 
Mining    investment,    principles    of, 

365. 
Misplaced  modifiers,  209-210. 
Mispronounced,     words     commonly, 

13,  17. 
Mistaken    ideas    in    letter    writing, 

241  ff. 
Mode,  defined,   112;    indicative  and 

subjunctive  of  6e,  112;  subjunctive 

denoting  possibihty,  113. 
Model  letters.  (See  Letter.) 
Modern    business    done    by    letter, 

229  ff. 
Modifiers,     adjective     and     adverb, 

word,  49;    phrase,  52  ff.;    clause, 

54~55;    used  to  secure  unity,  202; 

misplaced,  209-210. 
Money,    332;     kinds  of  paper,   332 

ff.;  its  appeal  in  advertising,  311- 

312. 
Money     order,     express,     340r34i; 

postal,  341. 
Monosyllables    ending    in    silent    e, 

9. 
Month  from  year,   comma  used  to 

separate,  178. 
More  or  less,  used  in  the  comparative 

degree,  78. 
Mortgage,  322,  357  ff.;    foreclosing 

a,  322. 
Most  or  least,  used  in  the  superlative 

degree,  78. 
Motives    to    which    advertisements 

appeal,  311. 


376 


INDEX 


Namely,  punctuation  with,  195. 

Names,  suggestive,  in  advertising, 
313- 

National  bank  notes,  333. 

National  news,  to  suggest  subjects 
for  talks,  155. 

Necessary  words,  omission  of,  210- 
211. 

Need,  its  appeal  in  advertising,  311- 
312. 

Negative  comparison,  125. 

Negative,  outline  for  a  debate  on 
advertising,  143  ff. 

Neither  —  nor,  123. 

News,  to  suggest  topics  for  talks,  155. 

Nominative  absolute,  65. 

Nominative  case,  64  fif.;  as  subject, 
64;  as  subjective  complement 
(predicate  nominative),  65;  as 
appositive,  65;  independent,  65; 
absolute,  65. 

Nor,  123. 

Notes,  359;   promissory,  336. 

Noun,  defined,  49;  clause,  54;  and 
the  pronoun,  57  ff.;  common,  57; 
proper,  57;  collective,  57;  ab- 
stract, 57;  verbal,  57;  modified 
by  every  and  similar  words,  86; 
collective,  number  of,  86. 

Nouns,  rules  for  plurals  of,  regular, 
18;  ending  in  y,  19;  ending  in  0, 
19;  ending  in  /  and /e,  19;  irregu- 
lar, 19-20;  compound,  20;  foreign, 
21;  possessive  case  of,  67;  incor- 
rectly used,  73-74;  joined  by  or, 
86;  punctuation  of  series  of,  171  ff. 

Number  of  verb,  86. 

0,  capitalization  of,  161. 

0,  plural  of  nouns  ending  in,  19. 

Object,  of  a  preposition,  55,  66;  of  a 
transitive  verb,  66;  indirect,  66; 
second,  66. 

Objective  case,  64,  66;  as  direct 
object  of  a  transitive  verb,  66;  as 
object  of  a  preposition,  66,  119; 
as  indirect  object,  66;  as  second 
object,  66;  as  appositive,  66;  as 
adverbial  modifier,  66;  following 
like,  124. 

Observation,  subjects  taken  from, 
146  ff. 

Obsolete  words,  3. 


Of  and  have,  119. 

Of  phrase  substituted  for  the  possess- 
ive case,  67. 

Oh,  161. 

Omission,  of  letters,  1 60;  of  necessary 
words,  210  ff.;  of  subject  in  busi- 
ness letters,  242. 

Opening  an  account,  letters  for, 
240  ff. 

Operating  department  of  a  railroad, 
360. 

Oral  English,  exercises  in,  127  ff. 

Oral  expression,  127  ff.;  variety  of, 
III. 

Oral  reproduction,  from  magazines, 
147;   from  newspapers,  154  ff. 

Oral  exercises,  in  general,  127  ff.;  on 
manufacture,  273  ff.;  in  the  retail 
trade,  286;  in  the  wholesale  trade, 
290  ff.;  in  the  mail  order  business, 
295;  in  connection  with  the  sales- 
man, 299  ff. 

Order  bill  of  lading,  285. 

Ordering  goods,  letter  for,  239. 

Order,  express  money,  340-341; 
postal  money,  341. 

Organization,  corporate,  359;  of  a 
railroad,  360. 

OutHne,  for  a  debate,  141  ff.;  h(^w 
to  make  an,  151  ff. 

Paper  money,  kinds  of,  332  ff. 

Paragraph,  the,  215  ff.;  in  dialogue, 
168  ff.;  proper  length  of,  215-216; 
topic  sentence  in,  216  ff.;  "ham- 
mock," 216;  how  developed,  222- 
223. 

Paragraphs  on,  Sacramento  City,  48; 
exports  in  cattle,  76;  cost  of  living, 
173;  the  government's  laundry, 
173-174;  luck  and  labor,  174; 
sawdust,  174-175;  a  new  kind  of 
wood,  175;  hogs  as  mortgage 
lifters,  175;  cotton  seed,  176; 
making  paper,  176-177;  how  to 
advance,  177;  bubonic  plague, 
177;  pohtics  of  a  city,  181;  cotton 
in  the  Soudan,  181;  the  ''yellow" 
invasion,  182;  saving,  182,  184, 
193;  investors,  184,  185;  Chicago's 
milk  supply,  186;  the  dead  letter 
sale,  190;  industries,  controlled, 
193;    the   secret   blotter,    197;    a 


INDEX 


377 


mummy's  doll,  198;  office  effi- 
ciency, 217;  stenographic  effi- 
ciency, 217;  business  courtesy, 
218;  the  rural  landscape  of 
Norway,  218;  the  Spectator,  218- 
219;  income,  225;  gas  mantles, 
280-281;  production  of  wool,  281; 
casting  metals,  281;  transporta- 
tion, 305;  the  Latin- American 
trade,  306;  the  parcel  post  in 
Africa,  306;  the  remedy  for  wrecks, 
306-307;  colonization,  307;  farm 
reform,  329;  farming  specials,  330; 
selection  of  seed,  330-331;  the 
clearing  house,  350-351;  washed 
money,  351-352;  an  early  monop- 
oly* Z^S)  mining  investments, 
365-366. 

Paragraphs,  subjects  for.  See  Sub- 
jects. 

Parenthesis  marks,  use  of,  196; 
wrongly  used  to  cancel  expressions, 
196. 

Parenthetical  expressions,  punctua- 
tion of,  180  fif. 

Participle,  defined,  109;  tenses  and 
voices  of,  109;  the  dangling,  205- 
206. 

Participles,  formation  of,  21;  of 
verbs  in  y,  23. 

Participial  phrases,  punctuation  of, 
176  £f.;   188  ff. 

Parts  of  speech:  The  noun  and  the 
pronoun,  49,  57  ff.;  the  adjective 
and  the  adverb,  49,  75,  ff.;  the 
verb,  49,  83  ff.;  the  preposition 
and  the  conjunction,  49,  116  ff.; 
the  interjection,  49. 

Parts,  principal,  of  irregular  verbs, 
95  ff. 

Par  value,  355. 

Passive  voice,  defined,  84;  conjuga- 
tion of  follow,  in  the,  105  ff.; 
synopsis  ol  follow  in  the,  106. 

Past  tense,  88;  progressive  form  of, 
89;  emphatic  form  of,  89;  perfect, 
90. 

Payment,  letters  requesting,  253  ff. 

Perfect  tenses,  89  ff. 

Period,  use  of,  162. 

Personal  pronouns  declined,  58. 

Personality  essential  in  a  salesman. 


Persons  of  the  pronouns,  58. 

Phrase  modifiers,  52  ff. 

Phrases,  prepositional,  52  ff.;  ad- 
verbial, 52-53;  adjective,  52-53; 
classification  of,  no;  punctuation 
of  series  of,  171  ff.;  initial  particip- 
ial, punctuation  of,  176;  incor- 
rectly used  as  a  sentence,  45,  242. 

Plurals,  of  nouns,  18  ff.;  of  letters 
and  figures,  20,  160;  of  foreign 
nouns,  21. 

Positive  degree,  78,  79. 

Possessive  case,  64,  67;  rules  for 
forming,  67;  separate  possession, 
in  the,  67;  with  verbal  nouns,  67 
ff.;  of  phrase  substituted  for,  67; 
use  of  the  apostrophe  in  the,  159. 

PossibiHty,    use   of   the   subjunctive 

.  mode  to  show,  113  ff. 

Postal  money  order,  341. 

Predicate,  of  the  sentence,  41;  nomi- 
native, 65. 

Preferred  stock,  355. 

Prefix,  usually  constituting  a  syllable, 
16;  Anglo-Saxon,  29;  Latin,  31; 
ad,  con,  and  in,  32-33. 

Present  tense,  88;  progressive,  88; 
emphatic,  88;   perfect,  89. 

Preposition,  defined,  49;  phrase  in- 
troduced by,  52;  followed  by  the 
objective  case,  66,  119;  and  the 
conjunction,  116  ff.;  the  wrong, 
119;   necessary,  119. 

Prepositional  phrases,  52-53. 

Prepositions,  and  adverbs  confused, 
52;  list  of,  53;  used  with  certain 
verbs,  11 6-1 17;  incorrectly  used, 
118-119. 

Pride,  its  appeal  in  advertising,  311- 
312. 

Principal  clauses,  42. 

Principal  parts  of  irregular  verbs, 
95  ff. 

Progressive  tenses,  88  ff.;  105. 

Promissory  note,  335. 

Pronominal  adjectives,  60. 

Pronoun,  defined,  49;  and  the  noun, 
57  ff.;  incorrect  use  of  same  as  a 
pronoun,  72-73. 

Pronouns,  58  ff.;  personal,  declined, 
58;  emphatic,  59;  reflexive,  59; 
list  of  relative,  54;  declension  of 
relative,    59;    compound   relative, 


378 


INDEX 


59;  double  relative,  59;  restrictive 
relative,  59  ff.;  interrogative  de- 
clined, 60;  demonstrative,  60; 
indefinite,  61;  adjective,  61;  pos- 
sessive in  form,  not  in  use,  59 
(note);  incorrectly  used,  73  ff.; 
joined  by  or,  86. 

Pronunciation,  7  ff.;  slurring  sylla- 
bles in,  7;   of  c  and  g,  24. 

Proper  noun,  defined,  57;  capitaliza- 
tion of,  57,  161. 

Proposition  for  debate,  137. 

Public  utility  corporations,  361  ff. 

Punctuation,  158  ff.;  apostrophe, 
159  ff.;  capitals,  160  ff.;  period, 
162;  interrogation  mark,  162;  ex- 
clamation mark,  162;  quotation 
marks,  163  ff.;  comma,  170  ff.; 
semicolon,  192  ff.;  colon,  194  ff.; 
dash,  195  ff.;  parenthesis  marks, 
196;  hyphen,  196  ff.;  of  series, 
170  ff.;  of  compound  sentences,  45, 
173  ff.;  of  initial  clause  or  parti- 
cipial phrase,  175  ff.;  of  explana- 
tory expressions,  179  ff.;  after  as 
follows,  etc.,  195;  after  namely, 
etc.,  195. 

QuaHty,  its  appeal  in  advertising, 
311-312. 

Questions  for  discussion  on,  manufac- 
ture, 273-274;  the  retail  merchant, 
286-287;  the  wholesale  merchant, 
291-292;  the  mail  order  merchant, 
295;  advertising,  309-310;  real 
estate,  323;   the  corporation,  363- 

364. 
Quitclaim  deed,  322. 
Quotation  marks,  use  of,  163  ff. 
Quotations,  use  of  comma  in,  170  ff. 

Railroad,  the,  360;  sources  of  income 
of,  360;  organization  of,  360; 
departments  of,  360  ff. 

Railroad  company,  the,  284,  360. 

Raise  and  rise,  loi. 

Raw  materials,  274. 

Reading,  subjects  taken  from,  147  ff. 

Real  and  very,  81. 

Real  estate  and  insurance,  321. 

Real  estate  business,  321  ff.  Rent, 
321;  lease,  321;  warranty  deed, 
322;    quitclaim   deed,   322;    clear 


title,  322;  fee  simple,  322;  mort- 
gage, 322;  foreclosing  a  mortgage, 
322;  agent  and  commission,  323; 
letters  in,  324  ff.;  topics  for  in- 
vestigation and  discussion,  327. 

Receipt  for  freight,  285. 

Redemption  of  bonds,  358. 

Reflexive  pronouns,  59. 

Reform,  farm,  329. 

Relative  pronouns,  list  of,  54,  59; 
dechned,  59;  double,  59;  restric- 
tive, 59  ff.;   compound,  59. 

Relative  value  of  different  forms  of 
advertising,  310. 

Remedy  for  wrecks,  306-307. 

Remittance,  forms  of,  338  ff.  Check, 
339;  certified  check,  339  ff.;  en- 
dorsement, methods  of,  340;  ex- 
press money  order,  340;  postal 
money  order,  341;  bank  draft,  341 
ff.;  time  draft,  343  ff.;  sight  draft, 
344  ff- 

Rent,  321. 

Reproduction,  oral,  from  magazines, 
147  ff.;  from  newspapers,  154  ff. 

Requesting  payment,  letters,  253  ff. 

Restricting  the  subject,  150. 

Restrictive  relative  pronouns,  59  ff. 

Retail  merchant,  the,  286  ff. 

Richards'  baby  stocking  fund,  337. 

Rise  and  raise,  loi. 

Roots,  Greek,  30. 

Rules.  For  spelling:  regular  plurals 
in  s  and  es,  18;  changing  final  y  to 
i,  19;  nouns  in  0,  19;  nouns  in  / 
and  fe,  19;  plural  by  change  of 
vowel,  19;  by  adding  en,  19;  no 
change  for  the  plural,  20;  two 
plurals,  20;  compound  nouns,  20; 
plurals  of  letters  and  figures,  20; 
foreign  plurals,  21;  doubling  final 
consonant,  21-22;  retaining  y 
before  ing,  23;  ie  or  ei,  24;  soft 
c  and  g,  24;  dropping  final  silent 
e,  25;  retaining  final  e,  25-26. 
For  punctuation:  the  apostrophe, 
to  show  the  possessive  case  of 
nouns,  159;  to  show  omission 
of  letters,  160;  to  show  plurals  of 
letters,  figures,  and  words  not 
regularly  nouns,  160;  capitals, 
160  ff.;  the  period,  162;  the  in- 
terrogation   mark,    162;     the    ex- 


INDEX 


379 


clamation  mark,  162;  quotation 
marks,  163  fif.;  comma  in  direct 
quotations,  170;  comma  in  series, 
171  ff.;  comma  in  compound 
sentence,  173  ff.;  comma  after 
initial  clause  or  participial  phrase, 
175  fif.;  comma  to  separate  month 
from  year,  etc.,  178;  comma  to 
show  omission  of  words,  178; 
comma  to  set  off  appositive,  179 
ff.;  comma  to  set  off  parenthetical 
expressions,  180  ff.;  comma  to  set 
off  independent  elements,  182  ff.; 
comma  to  set  off  non-restrictive 
relative  clause,  185  ff.;  comma  to 
set  off  subordinate  element  at  the 
end  of  the  sentence,  188  ff.;  the 
semicolon,  192  ff.;  the  colon,  194 
ff.;  the  dash,  195  ff.;  parenthesis 
marks,  196;   the  hyphen,  196. 

S  I,  comma  fault,  44. 

S  2,  use  of  phrase  or  clause  as  sen- 
tence, 45. 

Sacramento  City,  paragraph  on,  48. 

Salary,  3. 

Sales  letter,  the,  244  ff. 

Salesman,  the,  298  ff.;  letters  to  help 
the,  301-302. 

Salutation,  the,  of  business  letters, 
232,  236-237. 

Same,  not  a  pronoun,  72-73;  dis- 
tinctly business  blunder,  243. 

Saving,  paragraphs  on,  182,  184,  193. 

Savings  banks,  334,  336;  postal,  337. 

Savings  department  of  bank,  '332. 

Saw  and  seen,  99-100. 

Sawdust,  paragraph  on,  174. 

Second  object,  66. 

Secret  blotter,  the,  197. 

Sede,  cede,  ceed,  34. 

Selection  of  seed,  330-331. 

Semi-colon,  uses  of,  45,  174,  192  ff. 

Sentence,  the,  and  its  elements,  41 
ff.;  subject  of,  41;  simple,  42; 
complex,  42;  compound,  42;  com- 
pound, punctuation  of,  45,  174; 
predicate  of,  41;  declarative,  de- 
fined, 41;  interrogative,  defined, 
41;  imperative,  defined,  41;  ex- 
clamatory, defined,  41;  simple, 
defined,  42;  compound,  defined, 
42;  complex,  defined,  42;  errors,  44. 


Separation,  the  keynote  of  punctua- 
tion, 159. 

Series,  punctuation  of,  171  ff. 

Set,  and  sit,  10 1. 

Shall  and  will,  89,  92. 

Shareholders,  355. 

Shares,  of  capital  stock,  355. 

Shift  in  construction,  211  ff. 

Short  sentences,  combination  of, 
202  ff. 

Should  and  would,  93-94. 

Sight  draft,  344-345. 

Signature,  the,  in  business  letters, 
232,  237-238. 

Silent  consonant,  words  containing, 
II. 

Silent  vowels,  11. 

Silver  certificates,  332. 

Simple  sentence,  defined,  42. 

Since,  as  preposition  and  conjunc- 
tion, 55. 

sion,  tion,  cion,  34. 

Sit  and  set,  10 1. 

Slang,  129. 

Slurring  of  syllables,  7. 

Smooth  connection,  127-128,  224; 
methods  of  securing,  224. 

Snappy  style,  in  letter  writing,  246. 

So  —  as,  in  negative  comparisons, 
125.^ 

So  habit,  to  avoid  the,  iii,  128. 

Soudan,  cotton  in  the,  181. 

South  Africa,  parcel  post  in,  306. 

Specials,  railroad  farming,  330. 

Spectator,  The,  paragraph  from  Ma- 
caulay,  218-219. 

Speech,  parts  of,  48  ff. 

Speech,  plan  in  making,  131  ff.; 
outline  for,  151  ff. 

Spelling,  rules,  18  ff.;  500  words  for, 
36  ff. 

Split  infinitive,  77,  209. 

States,  abbreviation  of  names  of, 
26-27. 

Steamship  company,  the,  284. 

Steel,  trouble  in  introducing,  191. 

Stenographic  efficiency,  217. 

Still-life  advertisements,  314. 

Stock,  capital,  common  and  pre- 
ferred, 353,  355;  authorized  capi- 
tal, 355. 

Stockholders,  355. 

Stocks,  of  a  corporation,  354  ff. 


38o 


INDEX 


Straight  bill  of  lading,  285. 

Style,  in  letter  writing,  244  ff. 

Subject,  as  a  whole,  148;  divisions  of, 
149  ff.;  making  outline  of,  151  &.; 
restricting  the,  150,  153;  of  the 
sentence,  41,  65;  simple,  55;  com- 
plete, 55;  of  subordinate  clause, 
55;  compound,  number  of,  86; 
incorrect  omission  of,  in  business 
letters,  242. 

Subjective  complement,  65. 

Subjects,  how  to  choose,  146  ff.;  for 
debates,  141, 144,  275,  290,  302;  for 
compositions  on  manufacture,  274, 
275,  278-279;  on  distribution,  299, 
301,  303,  304;  on  advertising,  317, 
318;  suggested  by  personal  ex- 
perience, 147;  suggested  by  read- 
ing, 147,  154- 

Subjunctive  mode,  defined,  112;  of 
be,  112;  used  to  denote  possibility, 

113. 

Subordinate  clauses,  adjective,  ad- 
verb, noun,  54;  subject  of,  55. 

Subordinate    conjunctions,    list    of, 

54- 

Subordination,  in  the  sentence,  201 
ff. 

Subscription,  outline  of  letters  to 
sell,  268. 

Success,  elements  of,  135. 

Successful  men  and  women,  136. 

Sufl&x,  usually  constituting  a  sylla- 
ble, 16;  Anglo-Saxon,  29;  adjec- 
tive, 30;  verb,  31;  noun,  31;  able 
and  ible,  33;  ant  and  ent,  33. 

Suggestions  for  debates,  139  ff.,  144; 
on  manufacture,  275;  on  distribu- 
tion, 290,  302. 

Suggestive  names  in  advertisements, 
313;   headlines,  313-314- 

Superlative  degree,  of  adjectives,  78; 
of  adverbs,  79. 

Superlatives,  to  be  avoided,  129. 

Syllabication,  15. 

Syllables,  slurred,  7;  division  of 
words  into,  15  ff. 

Synopsis  of  write,  active  voice,  91. 

Teach  and  learn,  loi. 
Technical  words,  4. 
Tense,  defined,  88;  of  participle,  109; 
of  infinitive,  no. 


Tenses,  distinguished,  88  ff.  (See 
Present  tense,  Past  tense.  Perfect 
tenses.) 

Than  and  as,  case  following,  121, 

That,  restrictive  relative,  59  ff. 

That  is,  punctuation  with,  195. 

The  following,  punctuation  with,  195. 

Themes,  oral,  127  ff.  (See  Oral 
themes.) 

There,  their,  126. 

Thinking,  business,  2. 

Thus,  punctuatioi;  with,  195. 

Tilde,  9. 

Time  draft,  343-344. 

Tion,  sion,  cion,  34. 

Tious,  troublesome  ending,  33. 

Title,  clear,  to  property,  322. 

Titles,  150;  of  ofl5cials  and  of  honor, 
161;  of  books  and  plays,  162. 

To,  too,  two,  distinguished,  125-126. 

Tone,  of  the  letter,  240. 

Topic  sentence,  in  the  paragraph, 
216  ff. 

Topics  for  investigation  and  discus- 
sion, on  manufacture,  278-279; 
on  distribution,  304;  on  real 
estate,  327;  on  banking,  349-350; 
on  the  corporation,  365. 

Trade,  Latin-American,  306. 

Traffic  department  of  railroad,  359. 

Transitive  verb,  followed  by  objec- 
tive case,  66;  defined,  83. 

Transportation,  283. 

Troublesome  verbs,  100  ff.;  lie  and 
lay,  100  ff.;  sit,  set,  loi;  fly,  flow, 
flee,  loi;  rise,  raise,  loi;  tecu:h, 
learn,  loi;  may,  can,  102;  might, 
could,  102;  accept,  except,  102; 
afect,  efect,  102  ff.;  lose,  looser 
103. 

Trust  companies,  334,  337. 

Trust  department  of  a  bank,  332. 

Uncertain     antecedents,      pronouns 

with,  207  ff. 
United  States  treasury  notes,  333. 
Unity,  in  the  sentence,  199;    in  the 

paragraph,  216. 
Unless,  a  conjunction,  124. 
Until,  as  preposition  and  conjunction, 

55- 
Usefulness,  its  appeal  in  advertising, 

311. 


INDEX 


381 


Utility  corporations,  public,  36  £F. 

Value,  par  of  stock,  355  ff.;  market, 
355  ff. 

Vanity,  its  appeal  in  advertising, 
311. 

Variety  of  expression,  in. 

Verb,  the,  83  £f.;  defined,  49;  transi- 
tive, 66,  83;  intransitive,  83; 
copulative,  83;  active  voice  of, 
84;  passive  voice  of,  84;  number 
of,  85;  person  of,  85;  singular 
with  certain  words,  85  ff.;  plural 
with  certain  subjects,  86;  tense  of, 
88  ff.;  shall  and  will,  92;  should 
and  would,  93;  conjugation  of 
be,  104  ff.;  be  used  to  make  pro- 
gressive tenses,  105;  be  used  to 
make  passive  voice,  105  ff.;  the 
participle,  109;  the  infinitive,  no; 
mode,  112  ff.;  conjugation  of 
write,  active  voice,  88  ff.;  oi  follow, 
passive  voice,  105  ff.;  synopsis  of 
write,  active  voice,  91;  synopsis  of 
follow,  passive  voice,  106. 

Verbal  noun,  defined,  57;  possessive 
case  with,  67  ff. 

Verbs,  incorrectly  used,  114;  parti- 
ciples of  verbs  in  y,  23;  taking  two 
objects,  66;  taking  indirect  and 
direct  objects,  66;  principal  parts 
of  irregular,  95  ff.;  troublesome, 
100  ff.;  lie,  lay,  distinguished,  100; 
sit  and  set,  distinguished,  loi;  fly, 
flow,  flee,  distinguished,  loi;  rise 
and  raise,  distinguishied,  loi; 
teach  and  learn,  distinguished,  10 1; 
may  and  can,  distinguished,  102; 
might  and  could,  distinguished,  102; 
accept  and  except,  distinguished, 
102;  ajffect  and  efect,  distinguished, 
102;  lose  and  loose,  distinguished, 
103;  had  ought,  incorrectly  used, 
103;  certain  prepositions  used  with, 
116  ff. 

Very  and  real,  distinguished,  81 

Voice,  active  and  passive,  defined, 
84;  of  the  participle,  109;  of  the 
infinitive,  no. 

Vowels,  pronunciation  of,  9;    length 


of,  in  monosyllables  ending  in  e, 
9;  words  containing  silent,  n. 

Warranty  deed,  322. 

Washed  money,  351-352. 

Washing  machine,  letters  to  sell, 
outline,  269. 

Watered  stock,  357. 

Way-bill,  railroad,  286. 

Were,  where,  distinguished,  126. 

What,  double  relative,  59. 

Who,  and  which,  used  restrictively, 
60. 

Who  and  whom,  70  ff. 

Whoever  and  whomever,  71. 

Wholesale  merchant,  the,  291  ff. 

Why,  childish  use  of,  128. 

Will  and  shall,  89,  92  ff. 

Will  you  be  so  good  as  to,  243. 

Wish,  subjunctive  to  express,  113. 

Without,  a  preposition,  124;  incor- 
rectly used  as  conjunction,  124. 

Word  analysis,  29  ff. 

Words,  interesting,  i  ff.;  obsolete,  3; 
technical,  4;  similarly  pronounced 
14,  15;  frequently  mispronounced, 
13,  17;  containing  dg,  25;  ending 
in  silent  e,  retain  or  drop  e,  25; 
analysis  of,  32;  easily  confused, 
list  of,  35  ff.;  500  for  spelling,  36 
ff.;  used  as  different  parts  of 
speech,  51;  omission  of,  punctua- 
tion to  show,  178. 

Wordiness,  130  ff,  200-201. 

Would  and  should,  93  ff. 

Would  say,  to  be  avoided,  243. 

Write,  conjugation  of,  active  voice, 
88  ff.;  synopsis  of,  passive  voice, 
91. 

Writing  advertisements,  exercises  in, 
315-316. 

Written  composition,  i,  127  ff. 

Written  expression,  i,  127  ff. 

Y,  nouns  ending  in,  plural  of,  19. 
''Yellow"    invasion,    paragraph    on 

the,  182. 
You  attitude,  the,  in  letter  writing, 

244. 
Yze.  ize,  ise,  34. 


14  DAY  USE 

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